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COPYRIGHT,    BY    CL1NEDEN6T,    WASHINGTON 

PRESIDENT    McKINLEY    IN    HIS    LIBRARY    AT    THE    WHITE    HOUSE 


OUR   MARTYRED  PRESIDENT 

As  a  Man,  the  Noblest  and  Purest  of  his  Times. 
As  a  Citizen,  the  Grandestof  his  Nation. 

As  a  Statesman,  the  Idol  of  Millions  of  People. 

MEMORIAL  LIFE 

OF 

WILLIAM  McKINLEY 

CONTAINING  A 

FULL  ACCOUNT  OF  HIS   EARLY  LIFE  ;    HIS  AMBITION   TO  OBTAIN 

AN  EDUCATION  ;   HIS  BRILLIANT  CAREER  AS   A  SOLDIER   IN 

THE  CIVIL  WAR;  HIS  PATRIOTIC  RECORD  AS  A  MEMBER 

OF  CONGRESS  AND  GOVERNOR  OF  HIS  STATE;  HIS 

ABLE  ADMINISTRATION   AS  PRESIDENT,  ETC. 

INCLUDING  A 

THRILLING     ACCOUNT     OF    HIS    ASSASSINATION  ;      HIS    HEROIC 
STRUGGLE    FOR    LIFE;     HOPE    OF    RECOVERY    SUDDENLY 
BLASTED;    PROFOUND   SYMPATHY   AND   ANXIOUS   SUS- 
PENSE OF  THE  WHOLE  CIVILIZED  WORLD,  ETC. 

TOGETHER  WITH  A  FULL 

HISTORY  OF  ANARCHY  AND  ITS  INFAMOUS  DEEDS 
By    COL.    G.    W.    TOWNSEND^ 

THE  WELL-KNOWN   AUTHOR 
WITH   AN   INTRODUCTION 

By    HON.   JAMES    RANKIN    YOUNG 

Member  of  Congress  and  formerly  Clerk  of  the  United  States  Senate 

INCLUDING  THE  LIFE   OF   PRESIDENT  ROOSEVELT 


Profusely  Embellished   with    Superb    Engravings 


EMTENCD   ACCORDING    TO   ACT    OF    CONGRESS,    IN    THE    YEAH    1901,    BV 

D.    2.    HOWELL 

M    TMf    OFKC'.    »f    THE    LIBRARIAN    Of    CONGRESS.    AT    WASHINGTON,    D.  C.,   U.  •.  A. 


PREFACE. 


HE  news  of  the  appalling  tragedy  that  ended  the 
life  of  our  beloved  President  was  received  with  pro- 
found horror  and  indignation  throughout  the  civ- 
ilized world.  It  was  instantly  followed  with  a  great 
outbreak  of  popular  wrath  and  execration.  No 
American  Statesman  or  President  ever  filled  the  hearts  of  the 
people  more  fully  than  he  did. 

The  martyrdom  of  Lincoln  and  Garfield  won  for  them  a  pecu- 
liar veneration  and  their  names  are  now  consecrated  in  the  memory 
of  their  countrymen.  President  McKinley  gained  the  highest 
place  in  public  esteem,  admiration  and  love,  and  his  name  and 
memory  are  doubly  consecrated  by  his  untimely  death. 

Brilliant  as  a  Statesman  and  wise  as  a  ruler,  President 
McKinley  was  more  than  this.  He  was  loved  for  his  warm  and 
generous  nature.  His  patriotism  was  so  broad  and  bold  that  it 
won  the  applause  of  his  political  opponents.  Even  they  believed 
in  the  man.  They  honored  his  opinions  and  his  honesty  even 
though  they  differed  from  him.  He  was  followed  with  the  de- 
votion and  enthusiasm  of  the  army  that  bore  the  eagle  of  France 
when  Napoleon  marched  to  his  world-renowned  victories.  As  the 
mighty  ocean  is  stirred  by  the  resistless  cyclone,  so  the  hearts  of 
the  American  people  have  been  moved  by  the  infamous  crime  that 
laid  our  third  martyred  President  in  the  grave. 

The  complete  and  graphic  story  of  President  McKinley 's 
.marvelous  career  is  written  in  this  volume.  His  life  and  public 
services  are  a  part  of  our  country's  most  thrilling  history,  and 
these  are  vividly  detailed  in  this  work  which  is  worthy  of  its 
illustrious  subject.  No  grander  record  of  dazzling  achievements 
can  be  placed  under  the  name  of  any  man  of  modern  times.  Not 
merely  in,  intellect,  eloquence  and  far-seeing  statesmanship — not 
merely  as  a  great  political  leader  and  advocate  of  our  national 
industries,  welfare  and  great  prosperity,  but  as  a  man  of  noble 


111 


Iv  PREFACE. 

virtues  and  exalted  character,  President  McKinley  stood  upon  tne 
highest  pedestal.    He  fell  from  the  very  pinnacle  of  human  fame. 

From  his  boyhood  to  his  entrance  into  the  army,  from  his 
noble  stand  for  his  country  to  the  close  of  the  Civil  War,  from 
his  obscure  beginning  as  a  public  man  to  the  grand  successes 
that  pointed  to  him  as  a  fit  representative  of  his  State  in  Con- 
gress, from  his  proud  triumphs  under  the  dome  of  our  National 
Capitol  to  the  Governorship  of  his  State,  and  Presidency  of  the 
United  States,  the  reader  follows  him  with  ever-increasing  interest 
and  admiration. 

He  was  the  master  statesman  of  his  age,  the  magnetic  leader 
and  gallant  defender  of  American  rights,  the  idol  of  his  nation, 
unsurpassed  in  eloquence,  invincible  in  debate — the  man  who 
was  greater  than  any  party  and  who  will  rank  in  history  with 
Washington,  Lincoln,  Grant  and  Garfield.  This  memorial  volume 
contains  the  complete  and  fascinating  story  of  his  life  and  depicts 
in  glowing  colors  his  marvelous  career. 

In  Congress  he  was  considered  an  authority  on  every 
subject  upon  which  he  expressed  an  opinion.  Clear  in  his  grasp 
of  public  questions,  eloquent  in  advocating  the  principles  he  pro- 
fessed, considerate  and  lenient  toward  his  opponents,  affable  in 
all  his  intercourse  with  others,  and  manifesting  always  a  certain 
dignity,  strength  and  sincerity  that  impressed  all  who  knew  him, 
he  was  for  years  one  of  the  most  conspicuous  figures  in  the  halls 
of  Congress.  For  William  McKinley  to  become  President  of  the 
United  States  was  only  a  natural  step  from  the  commanding 
position  he  had  gained. 

The  story  of  President  McKinley 's  life  is  much  like  that  of 
nearly  all  our  renowned  statesmen  and  rulers.  He  was  born  in 
humble  life.  He  had  that  contact  with  Mother  Earth  which" 
falls  to  the  lot  of  the  farmer's  son.  While  his  advantages  for  edu- 
cation were  not  the  best,  he  made  such  diligent  use  of  his  time  and 
opportunities  that  he  became  distinguished  as  a  scholar,  and  espe- 
cially as  a  student  of  political  economy.  He  is  an  admirable 
example  for  young  men.  Let  them  emulate  his  diligence,  his 
lawful  ambition,  his  devotion  to  duty,  and  enthusiasm  as  a  worker. 


INTRODUCTION. 

BY 

HON.  JAMES    RANKIN  YOUNG, 

of  Congress  and  Late  Clerk  of  the  United  States  Senate. 


Probably  there  is  no  one  fact  in  the  history  of  the  Republic, 
of  which  Americans  are  prouder  than  that  all  their  Presidents 
were  exceptionally  good  men  —  men  who  filled  the  great  office  with 
credit  to  themselves  and  honor  to  the  Nation.  They  were  espe- 
cially noted  for  their  earnest  love  of  country,  their  rigid  integrity 
and  the  simplicity  of  their  lives. 

Simplicity  was  the  ruling  point  in  view  when  our  fathers 
founded  the  Government,  and  the  Presidents,  in  the  performance 
of  their  duties,  never  seemed  to  have  lost  sight  of  the  fact.  Sim- 
plicity is  known  to  be  the  leading  characteristic  of  all  great  men, 
probably  it  would  be  better  to  say  men  who  combine  that  which 
is  good  with  that  which  is  great.  We  saw  it  as  a  shining  mark 
in  Washington  ;  it  was  the  ruling  spirit  with  Jefferson,  it  made 
Jackson  more  famous  than  did  his  deeds  of  heroism  and  aggres- 
siveness, it  was  personified  in  Lincoln  and  Grant,  but  with  no 
desire  to  retract  from  the  others,  I  am  free  to  say  that  the  perfect 
model  of  simplicity  was  found  in  McKinley. 

It  was  his  life  and  staff.  It  permeated  every  fibre  of  his 
make  up.  It  came  with  him  at  his  birth.  It  clung  to  him 
through  life  —  as  the  youth  at  school,  as  the  soldier  in  the  field,  in 
his  profession  as  a  lawyer,  as  the  servant  of  the  public  in  the 
trusted  positions  in  which  they  placed  him.  You  had  but  to  look 
at  the  benign  expression  ever  present  in  his  countenance  to  see 
that  gentleness  of  nature  was  his  leading  characteristic. 

Probably  no  better  idea  of  just  what  the  character  of  man  our 
late  President  was  can  be  found  than  in  what  was  said  of  him 


ri  INTRODUCTION. 

by  my  brother,  the  late  John  Russell  Young,  who  was  his  constant 
companion  in  his  home  at  Canton,  during  the  week  when  the 
Republican  National  Convention  was  held  at  St.  Louis,  June,  1896. 

"  While,"  says  Mr.  Young,  writing  from  a  table  adjoining 
that  occupied  by  Mr.  McKinley,  "the  Major,"  as  the  late  Presi- 
dent was  then  called,  "  is  in  touch  with  whatever  is  going  on  in 
St.  Louis,  and  as  much  in  command  of  his  forces  in  attendance  at 
the  Convention  there,  as  Napoleon  when  he  saw  the  gray  morning 
skies  brighten  over  the  frosty  plains  of  Austerlitz,  there  is  in 
what  he  says  a  spirit  of  generosity  and  magnanimity.  Here  is  a 
gentleman  with  opinions,  and  by  no  means  reserved  in  their 
expression,  running  over  men,  events,  happenings,  possibilities, 
and  ever  just  and  true. 

"  He  states  a  case  or  an  estimate  of  a  man,  not  as  you  would 
like  it  to  be,  but  as  it  is,  seeking  always  to  find  the  best  side  and 
exhibit  that.  There  is  no  throwing  a  man  over  a  precipice  with 
a  phrase  as  Conkling  would  have  done,  nor  some  withering  ques- 
tion of  invective  as  so  often  fell  from  the  lips  of  Elaine,  but  rather 
Uncle  Toby's  way,  that  the  world  is  big  enough  for  us  all,  and  let 
us  adjust  ourselves  without  jostling.  Behind  this  you  have  a 
granite  wall  of  party  stalwartism,  reverence,  a  reverence  for  the 
Union,  adoration  for  the  men  who  saved  the  Union." 

Continuing  Mr.  Young  says: — "  Because  of  the  doings  in  the 
St.  Louis  Convention  Canton  lives  in  a  state  of  uneasy  hope  and 
expectation.  Mr.  McKinley  is  apparently  the  only  placid  man  in 
town.  He  takes  the  concentration  of  the  eyes  of  the  world  upon 
him  with  entire  composure.  He  has  been  under  fire  before,  has 
ridden  by  the  side  of  Sheridan  and  Hancock  in  the  great  war,  and 
is  not  to  be  disturbed  by  a  mere  political  cannonade.  You  find 
him  at  the  trains  greeting  friends  with  words  of  welcome  or  fare- 
well, or  jogging  about  the  town  or  driving  over  shaded  lanes  and 
pointing  out  to  some  companions  the  growth  and  beauty  of  Canton, 
or  the  centre  of  a  group  of  political  parties  who  have  come  to  adore 
the  rising  sun. 

1  What  they  see  is  a  resolute,  quiet,  courteous,  kindly  man, 
with  sun  beaming  eyes,  thoughtful,  considerate.     It  has  been  niy 


INTRODUCTION.  vii 

privilege  to  ride  with  him  and  learn  all  that  is  involved  in  his 
beloved  Canton,  to  sit  with  him  on  his  spacious  piazza  and  look  out 
upon  the  calm  hushed  town  while  we  talked  of  men  and  events." 

Speaking  further  on  Mr.  Young  makes  allusion  to  the  beau- 
tiful homelife  of  Mr.  McKinley  and  his  dearly  beloved  wife.  "The 
McKinley  homestead,"  he  says,  "  is  an  ideal  American  home,  as 
its  master  is  an  ideal  American  citizen.  Taste,  comfort,  good 
books,  attractive  decorations,  the  touch  of  the  woman's  hand  every- 
where, for  how  could  there  have  been  an  Eden  unless  Eve  had 
made  it  so.  An  atmosphere  of  gentleness  and  repose.  In  spite 
of  the  excitement  because  of  the  doings  at  the  convention — nobody 
seemed  to  be  in  a  hurry  ;  not  even  Governor  McKinley,  who,  with 
his  shoulders  thrown  against  his  easy  chair,  talks  and  listens — 
listens  rather  than  talks — his  fine  eyes  beaming  through  the 
smoke  of  a  cigar.  The  stillest,  cosiest,  sunniest  place  in  the  world, 
the  very  birds  picking  crumbs  on  the  window  ledge,  as  if  in  a  doze, 
yet  the  heart  of  a  great  nation  beating  and  throbbing  towards  this 
modest  home  in  Canton. 

"  As  the  news  com.es  over  the  wires  from  the  convention  Mr. 
McKinley  sits  in  his  modest  home — the  portraits  of  Washington, 
Lincoln  and  Grant  above  him — and  goes  from  pile  to  pile  of  cor- 
respondence as  though  the  theme  of  his  letters  were  orders  for 
iron  or  snuff  and  not  a  diadem  richer  than  ever  rested  upon  an 
imperial  brow — a  thoroughly  self-contained  man,  who  says  pre- 
cisely what  he  means  to  say  ;  never  taken  at  a  disadvantage, 
eminently  serious,  whether  listening  or  talking  his  mind  upon  the 
one  thing  that  concerns  him.  You  divine  in  him  a  capacity  for 
doing  business,  of  hearing  what  has  to  be  said  and  closing  the 
conversation.  When  all  that  is  useful  has  been  said,  wit,  humor, 
imagination  are  not  apparent  qualities.  This  man  has  somethiug 
to  do  and  must  do  it. 

"  You  see  in  him  a  man  of  patience  and  courtesy.  If  you  are 
not  answered  as  to  your  wants  you  carry  away  the  impression  that 
he  is  more  grieved  over  your  disappointment  than  you  could 
possibly  be.  This  is  something  like  Henry  Clay.  He  has  a 
quiet,  prompt,  narrative  faculty.  We  talked  much  of  the  war 


viii  INTRODUCTION. 

days  of  Lincoln,  Grant  and  Sheridan,  and  be  was  always  luminous 
and  lucid,  every  detail  coming  out  as  though  it  were  an  etching. 
He  had  served  with  Sheridan,  was  in  fact  the  first  officer  Sheri- 
dan addressed  when  he  came  upon  his  beaten  command,  having 
ridden  that  immortal  twenty  miles,  and  in  all  his  references  to 
Sheridan  and  Crook  and  other  famous  captains  there  was  a  beauti- 
ful spirit  of  loyalty  which  noted  the  comradeship  of  the  drum  and 
the  bivouac.  Mr.  McKinley  impresses  you  as  one  who  knows 
his  mind — who  would  have  a  host  of  friends  but  few  of  what  the 
world  calls  chums. 

"  I  noted  that  his  estimates  of  public  men — and  few  escaped 
the  scrutiny  of  a  long  conversation — were  invariably  academic  and 
impartial — without  censure,  criticism  or  feeling.  Lincoln,  Stanton, 
Elaine,  Grant,  Garfield,  Arthur,  Randall  were  like  so  many  photo- 
graphs, and  carefully  studied  and  reverently  put  aside.  For  no 
one  had  he  an  unkind  word.  His  ruling  faculty  is  j  ustice,  wide 
embracing  justice,  tempered  with  kindness. 

"  I  have  to  say  that  when  the  character  of  Mr.  McKinley 
shall  have  been  submitted  to  the  political  autopsy  inseparable 
from  the  political  canvass,  an  examination  imposed  something 
like  a  masonic  ritual,  upon  every  candidate  for  the  exalted  posi- 
tion of  President,  there  is  nothing  in  Mr.  McKinley  that  may  not 
be  called  genuine  and  true." 

He  came  from  Scotch  ancestry,  or  rather  Scotch-Irish,  like 
Jackson,  Buchanan  and  Arthur,  His  ancestors  had  a  Pennsyl- 
vania nurture  like  those  of  Elaine,  Lincoln  and  Grant.  McKinley' s 
father  was  a  Pennsylvanian  ;  his  mother  an  Allison,  a  name  dear 
to  those  who  recall  and  love  the  names  of  the  Scottish  Covenant. 
He  became  a  Methodist  like  so  many  Covenanters,  of  amiable  mood, 
who  settled  in  the  West,  and  was  of  course  an  Abolitionist 
nourished  on  the  corn  of  Garrison,  Sumner  and  Wendell  Phillips. 

JAMES  RANKIN  YOUNG. 


CONTENTS. 


CHAPTER  I.  PAGE 

Birth  and  Education  of  President  McKinley — His  Brilliant 
Career  in  the  Army  and  Promotion  for  Bravery — Dis- 
tinguished as  a  Lawyer,  Congressman  and  Governor- 
Champion  of  the  Rights  of  Labor 33 

CHAPTER  IL 

A  Man  of  Noble  Ideals  and  Unselfish  Aims — His  Domestic 
Fidelity — A  Governor  of  Rare  Sagacity — His  Successful 
Administration  as  President ,  ,  • 47 

CHAPTER  III. 

Career  of  President  McKinley — Raised  to  Rank  of  Captain 
and  Brevet-Major  in  the  Arrny — Romance  of  Early  Life 
— Conspicuous  Acts  of  Legislation  During  His  Adminis- 
tration as  President  .  , 64 

CHAPTER  IV. 

Additional  Account  of  President  McKinley's  Life — Illustrious 
Ancestry — A  Young  Patriot  in  the  Army — First  Term 
in  the  White  House  and  Re-election 90 

CHAPTER  V. 

Incidents  in  President  McKinley's  Career— Gallant  Exploits 
on  the  Field  of  Battle — Daring  Feat  at  Antietam — Always 
True  to  His  Pledge 108 

CHAPTER  VI. 

Mr.  McKinley's  Commanding  Influence  in  Congress — Famclus 
Author  of  the  Tariff  Bill  Bearing  His  Name — His  Nota- 
ble Career  as  Governor  of  Ohio— First  Term  as  President 

— His  Home  Life  and  Personality 126 

ix 


,  CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER  VII.  PAGE 

Important  State  Papers  and  Speeches  of  President  McKinley 
— Message  to  Congress  on  the  War  in  Cuba — Addresses 
at  Peace  Jubilees , 14? 

CHAPTER  VIII. 

Glowing  Tribute  to  Our  Lamented  President— Speech  on 
Being  Notified  of  His  Second  Nomination — Masterly 
Statement  of  the  Political  History  of  Our  Country  .  .  .  168 

CHAPTER  IX. 

Story  of  the  Assassination  of  President  McKinley — Graphic 
Picture  of  the  Tragic  Act — The  Assassin  Caught  and 
Roughly  Handled — Public  Indignation  and  Horror  .  .  189 

CHAPTER  X. 

Additional  Account  of  the  Assassination — Two  Shots  in  Quick 
Succession — Instant  Lynching  Threatened — Surgeons 
Summoned — Horror  at  the  Dastardly  Deed — The  Nation 
Stunned  by  the  Terrible  News 202 

CHAPTER  XL 

Mrs.  McKinley  Hears  the  Appalling  News — The  Nation 
Bowed  with  Grief — Europe  Aghast  at  the  Diabolical 
Crime 221 

CHAPTER  XII. 

Strong  Hopes  at  First  of  the  President's  Recovery — Days  of 
Anxious  Suspense — Some  Account  of  the  Assassin — 
Arrest  of  Notorious  Anarchists 234 

CHAPTER  XIII. 

Last  Hours  of  the  President— "  It  is  God's  Way,  His  Will  be 
Done" — Anxious  Multitudes  Await  the  Sorrowful 
Tidings — Universal  Grief  and  Sympathy  249 


CONTENTS.  4 

CHAPTER  XIV.  PAGE 

Additional  Account  of  President  McKinley's  Death — Hope 
Ending  in  Despair — Medical  Skill  Exhausted — Cause  of 
the  Final  Relapse 273 

CHAPTER  XV. 

Obsequies  of  Our  Martyred  President — Extraordinay  Demon- 
strations of  Public  Sorrow — Body  Lying  in  State  at 
Buffalo — Immense  Throngs  of  People  Passing  the  Bier 
— Short  and  Simple  Funeral  Services 294 

CHAPTER  XVI. 

Great  Outpouring  of  People  to  Honor  the  Martyred  President 
— Tokens  of  Grief — New  President  and  Members  of  the 
Cabinet  at  the  Bier — Memorable  Scene 311 

CHAPTER  XVII. 

Funeral  Cortege  Reaches  Washington — A  Nation's  Tribute 
of  Respect  and  Love — Services  in  the  Capitol — Memorial 
Address 330 

CHAPTER  XVIII. 

Eloquent  Eulogy  on  the  Dead  President — Floral  Offerings — 
Great  Crush  to  View  the  Remains — Distinguished  Per- 
sons Present , 346 

CHAPTER  XIX. 

Last  Funeral  Rites  at  Canton — Imposing  Demonstrations — 
Scenes  at  the  Church — President  Roosevelt  and  Other 
Distinguished  Mourners 364 

CHAPTER  XX. 

Magnificent  Tributes  to  Mr.  McKinley — Eloquent  Eulogies 
from  Celebrities — Grief  and  Indignation — The  Presi- 
dent's Virtues  and  Character  Extolled 391 


^  CONTENTS, 

CHAPTER  XXI.  PAGE 

Additional  Tributes  to  President  McKinley — Messages  from 
Crowned  Heads — Canada  Observes  the  Da}'  of  Obsequies 
— All  Business  Suspended  Throughout  Our  Country  .  .  415, 

CHAPTER  XXII. 

Personal  Traits  of  Mr.  McKinley — Never  Swerved  from  the 
Path  of  Duty — Anecdotes  and  Incidents — His  Kind 
Heart — Affection  for  Old  Friends 426 

CHAPTER  XXIII. 

Origin  and  Rise  of  Anarchism — Its  Theory  and  Practice — 
Aims  to  Overthrow  All  Lawful  Government — Assassina- 
tions of  Lincoln,  Garfield  and  McKinley 438 

CHAPTER  XXIV. 

Trial  and  Conviction  of  the  Assassin — Remarkable  Scenes 
in  Court — Counsel  Laments  the  President's  Death — 
Sentence  of  Death  Pronounced  ...  460 

CHAPTER  XXV. 

Our  New  President — Hon.  Theodore  Roosevelt  Hurries  to 
Buffalo  on  Receiving  News  of  Mr.  McKinley's  Death — 
Sworn  in  as  President  with  Impressive  Ceremony — 
Pathetic  Scene— His  First  Official  Act 467 

CHAPTER  XXVI. 

The  Hero  of  San  Juan — President  Roosevelt's  Active  Life — 
Ancestry  and  Education — His  Strong  Personality — A 
Man  of  Deep  Convictions  and  Great  Courage 481 

CHAPTER  XXVII. 

President  Roosevelt  in  the  Battle  of  San  Juan — Story  of 
Brave  Exploits — Narrow  Escape — Ballad  of  "Teddy's 
Terrors." 498 


CHAPTER    I. 

Birth  and  Education  of  President  McKinley — His  Brilliant 
Career  in  the  Army  and  Promotion  for  Bravery — Dis- 
tinguished as  a  Lawyer,  Congressman  and  Governor — 
Champion  of  the  Rights  of  Labor. 

A    CROWDED  public  reception  in  the  Temple  of  Mnsic  at  the 

Pan-American  Exposition  at  Buffalo.  President  McKinley 
shaking  hands  with  the  throng.  Suddenly  the  sharp  crack  of  a 
pistol  shot,  repeated  in  an  instant.  The  President  twice  wounded 
by  a  desperate  assassin.  Horror,  commotion  and  indignation  on 
every  side. 

Such  is  the  short  and  appalling  story  of  that  fatal  Friday 
afternoon,  the  sixth  of  September,  1901.  Our  honored  President, 
who  held  so  strong  a  place  in  the  hearts  of  the  whole  American 
people  was  stricken  by  the  dastardly  hand  of  a  coward  and  mur- 
derer. The  shot  was  winged  with  death. 

He  was  in  the  apparent  enjoyment  of  health,  honor  and  every 
token  of  happiness.  He  was  applauded  by  the  vast  throng  that 
crowded  around  him  at  the  Exposition  Grounds.  In  the  twinkling 
of  an  eye  a  ghastly  change  came  over  the  whole  scene.  Men  were 
petrified  by  the  infamous  deed  ;  others  were  maddened  to  desper- 
ation. We  shall  relate  the  story  of  Mr.  McKinley's  life,  with  the 
earnest  endeavor  to  make  these  pages  worthy  of  the  illustrious 
President,  whose  tragic  death  has  stirred  the  hearts  of  the  whole 
American  people  to  their  lowest  depths. 

Seldom  in  the  public  life  of  the  statesmen  of  this  republic 
has  the  wisdom  of  pertinacious,  continuous  application  to  one 
broad  issue  of  national  policy  as  a  road  to  highest  preferment 
been  so  completely  approved  as  in  the  career  of  President 
William  McKinley.  Twice  his  conspicuous  championship  of 
protection  and  home  markets  for  American  workmen  almost 
stampeded  conventions  to  his  nomination,  vvh^a  acceptance 

3  33 


34  EARLY   LIFE  OF   PRESIDENT   McKlNLEY. 

would  have  been  violative  of  the  higli   stand,  and  of  personal 
honor,  which  has  marked  his  public  and  private  life. 

Quiet,  dignified,  modest,  considerate  of  others,  ever  ready  to 
postpone  his  own  ambitions  in  favor  of  those  of  veterans  of 
longer  service,  faithful  to  friends,  unwavering  in  integrity,  tactful 
in  silencing  opposition,  but  unyielding  in  matters  of  principle, 
strong  in  his  sympathy  with  the  toilers,  unchanged  by  success, 
abounding  in  hope  under  defeat,  of  unspotted  private  life,  he 
won  his  way  to  the  top  as  one  of  the  best  examples  of  courageous, 
persevering,  vigorous  manhood  that  the  nation  has  ever  produced. 

IN  TOUCH  WITH  PLAIN   PEOPLE. 

More  than  any  other  who  has  reached  his  proud  pre- 
eminence, save  only  Abraham  Lincoln,  his  touch  was  closest  with 
those  "  plain  people  "  upon  whom  the  martyred  Lincoln  relied 
with  such  unhesitating  confidence.  While  yet  a  youth  he 
marched  in  the  ranks,  a  private  soldier,  and  saw  four  years  of 
the  bloody  struggle  which  made  the  country  all  free.  In  poverty 
he  wrought  to  acquire  his  profession.  These  years  of  self-denial 
brought  with  them  the  self-reliance  and  self-control  which 
resulted  in  his  leadership  on  the  floor  of  Congress  at  an  age  when 
no  other  American,  save  Henry  Clay,  had  ever  achieved  similar 
prominence. 

He  bore  his  part  in  great  debates  in  a  manner  quiet,  self- 
possessed  and  dignified.  His  incisive  logic,  caustic  raillery  at 
antagonists,  and  sarcastic  comments  on  the  shortcomings  of  his 
own  party,  gave  him  a  mastery  in  debate  -vhich  won  the  admira- 
tion even  of  those  who  opposed  him.  Mr.  McKinley's  personality 
like  his  career  was  the  fruit  of  a  peculiarly  logical  and  system- 
atic character.  Where  others  knew  superficially  he  knew 
thoroughly.  This  thoroughness  and  skill  in  handling  a  slender 
majority  of  twenty-two  enabled  him  to  pass  that  tariff  bill  which 
bears  his  name,  which  found  less  favor  when  enacted  than  it 
has  enjoyed  since  its  revision.  He  afterward  stood  as  the  em- 
bodiment and  apostle  of  that  principle. 

It  is  not  easy  always  to  analyze  the  causes  of  a  popular 


EARLY   LIFE   OF   PRESIDENT    McKINLEY.  35 

favorite's  hold  upon  the  masses.  High  principle,  personal  mag- 
netism, gallantry,  boldness  even  to  rashness,  great  skill  in  debate 
or  ability  as  a  platform  orator — all  these  may  in  turn  be  cited  as 
reasons  why  a  man  should  be  liked  or  respected.  But  to  awake 
the  love  and  warmest  admiration  of  a  people  require  qualities 
which  well  nigh  defy  analysis.  It  has  been  Mr.  McKinley's  good 
fortune  to  be  able  to  offer  a  very  large  class  of  his  fellow-citizens 
just  what  they  seemed  to  need. 

He  aroused  and  attracted  their  sympathies,  and  this  tre- 
mendous logical  fact  is  what  brought  about  the  overwhelming 
ground-swell  which  swept  other  aspirants  off  their  feet,  and 
landed  him  an  easy  winner  over  men  of  larger  public  service  and 
greater  brilliance  in  many  of  the  attributes  of  statesmanship. 
"All  things  come  to  him  who  waits,"  and  William  McKinley's 
self-denial  received  its  great  reward. 

CAME  FROM  A  STURDY  PARENTAGE. 

Mr.  McKinley  had  a  long  expectation  of  life  if  the  longevity 
of  his  parents  can  be  taken  as  an  indication.  His  father,  Wil- 
liam McKinley,  Sr.,  died  in  1893,  at  the  ripe  age  of  85,  and  his 
mother,  Mrs.  Nancy  McKinley,  died  in  1899,  at  Canton,  the 
proud  recipient  of  the  filial  attentions  of  her  distinguished  son. 
Mrs.  Nancy  McKinley's  father  was  of  German  birth,  and  her 
mother  was  of  Scotch  descent.  William  McKinley  senior's 
grandfather  was  a  Scotch-Irishman,  and  his  mother  was  an 
Englishwoman.  Mr.  McKinley,  Sr.,  was  born  in  Mercer  County, 
Pa.,  but  his  family  moved  to  New  Lisbon,  Columbiana  County, 
O.,  in  1809,  where  for  many  years  he  was  manager  of  a  blast 
furnace. 

It  was  in  New  Lisbon  that  he  met  his  wife,  whom  he  married 
in  1838.  Two  sons,  David  and  James,  were  born  there,  but  owing 
to  lack  of  educational  facilities  the  father  established  his  family 
in  a  little  house  in  Niles,  Trumbull  County.  It  was  in  this 
house  that  William  McKinley  was  born,  Janua^  29,  1843.  It 
is  worth  remark  that  a  considerable  number  of  prominent  Ameri- 
cans were  natives  of  counties  of  Ohio,  in  the  near  vicinity  of  Niles. 


36  EARLY    LIFE   OF   PRESIDENT   McKINLEY. 

Cuyahoga,  thirty  miles  away,  was  the  birthplace  of  James  A. 
Garfield.  Senator  Allison,  of  Iowa,  lived  only  thirty  miles  from 
Canton,  and  Senator  Manderson,  of  Nebraska,  lived  and  married 
only  fifteen  miles  from  that  city.  Ex-Senator  Thomas  Collier 
Platt  kept  store  at  one  time  in  Massillon,  only  eight  miles  away, 
and  Senator  Quay's  home  at  Beaver  is  only  sixty  miles  off. 
Rutherford  B.  Hayes  was  a  native  of  Delaware  County,  near  by, 
and  Senator  Sherman  and  General  William  T.  Sherman  were 
born  and  reared  at  Lancaster,  O.,  less  than  a  hundred  miles 
away. 

Several  of  Mr.  McKinley's  brothers  and  sisters  died  in 
infancy.  His  oldest  brother,  David,  was  a  resident  of  San  Fran- 
cisco, where  he  discharged  the  duty  of  Hawaiian  Consul  to  the 
United  States.  James,  the  next  older  brother,  died  about  1890. 
Abner,  a  younger  brother  has  been  engaged  in  business  in  New 
York.  William  McKinley  entered  the  village  school  in  Poland, 
to  which  his  family  had  removed  when  only  five  years  old.  He 
remained  in  the  schools  of  that  town  until  in  his  seventeenth 
year,  when  he  made  enough  money  by  teaching  in  a  near  by  dis- 
trict public  school  to  pay  his  matriculation  fees  in  Allegheny 

College. 

CALL  TO  ARMS  FOUND  HIM   READY. 

He  remained  at  the  college  only  a  few  weeks  when  the  call 
to  arms  for  the  Civil  War  came,  and  the  pale-faced,  grey-eyed, 
earnest  and  patriotic  young  student  flung  aside  his  books  and 
decided  to  shoulder  a  musket  for  the  preservation  of  the  Union. 
This  step  was  taken  only  after  earnest  conference  with  his 
parents.  Owing  to  his  youth  and  physical  immaturity  they  were 
loath  to  consent  to  interruption  of  his  studies  and  the  incident 
exposure  to  the  hardship  of  campaigning. 

But  the  enthusiastic  patriotism  of  the  youth  kindled  like 
emotion  in  the  Scotch-Irish  blood  of  his  parents  and  bore  down 
their  opposition,  for  they  saw  that  in  spite  of  his  youth  there  was 
plenty  of  fighting  stuff  in  him.  And  so  his  education  in  books 
ended,  and  that  broader  education  of  stirring  events  and  the  ways 
of  men  began. 


EARLY    LIFE  OF  PRESIDENT  McKINLEY.  37 

Young  McKinley  entered  the  Union  army  a  mere  stripling, 
without  influence  or  powerful  friends,  with  only  a  heart  brimful  of 
patriotism  and  love  for  his  flag.  He  joined  a  company  of  volun- 
teers from  his  own  neighborhood,  which,  after  the  fashion  of  the 
time,  took  the  pretentious  name  of  "The  Poland  Guards."  The 
company  had  already  selected  its  officers.  The  captain,  a  youth 
named  Zimmerman,  was  chosen  because  of  a  brief  service  in 
a  Pennsylvania  militia  company,  in  which  he  had  learned  the 
facings  and  a  few  other  rudiments  of  the  school  of  the  soldier. 
He  was  the  only  man  in  the  company  who  had  any  military 
training  whatever. 

Another  young  fellow  named  Race  was  first  lieutenant,  and 
J.  L.  Botsford,  second  lieutenant.  This  company  was  mustered 
into  the  volunteer  service  at  Columbus  by  General  John  C.  Fre- 
mont in  June,  1861,  and  was  attached  to  the  Twenty-third  Ohio 
Volunteer  Infantry,  of  which  William  S.  Rosecranz  was  colonel 
and  Rutherford  B.  Ha}^es  major. 

HARDSHIPS  OF  A  SOLDIER'S  LIFE. 

The  regiment  saw  service  first  in  General  George  B. 
McClellan's  campaign  in  the  Kanawha,  which  wrested  West 
Virginia  from  the  parent  State  and  added  another  star  to  the 
sisterhood  of  States.  It  was  a  campaign  of  few  battles,  hard 
marches  and  plenty  of  experience  in  the  hardships  of  soldiering. 
Of  the  fourteen  months  which  McKinley  served  in  the  ranks  he 
once  said  :  "  I  always  look  back  with  pleasure  on  those  fourteen 
months  of  soldiering.  They  taught  me  a  great  deal.  I  was  only 
a  school-boy  when  I  entered  the  ranks,  and  that  year  was  the 
formative  period  of  my  life,  during  which  I  learned  much  of  men 
and  affairs.  I  have  always  been  glad  that  I  entered  the  service 
as  a  private." 

Promotion  came  to  him  after  Antietam.  During  that  battle 
he  was  acting  commissary  for  his  company,  and  in  the  heat  of 
the  fight  he  took  cooked  rations  to  the  front  to  feed  his  hungry 
comrades  who  had  been  in  battle  line  for  twentyfour  hours. 
The  fighters  fell  back  in  squads  to  refresh  themselves,  and  were 


38  EARLY   LIFE  OF  PRESIDENT   McKIN^EY. 

loud  in  praises  of  McKinley's  thoughtfulness.  He  obtained 
furlough  a  few  days  after  the  battle. 

On  his  way  home  he  passed  through  Columbus  and  paid  his 
respects  to  Governor  Tod,  who  surprised  the  young  volunteer  by 
presenting  him.  with  a  second  lieutenant's  commission.  General 
Hayes,  who  had  been  wounded  at  the  battle,  was  home  and 
recommended  the  promotion.  This  was  September  24,  1862. 
February  7,  1863,  he  was  promoted  to  first  lieutenant,  and  on 
July  25,  1864,  captain.  This  latter  promotion  was  supplemented 
by  his  appointment  as  adjutant-general  of  his  brigade,  and  he 
remained  upon  the  staff  until  mustered  out  in  July,  1865. 

It  was  as  assistant  adjutant-general  that  he  went  through 
Sheridan's  famous  campaigns  in  the  Shenandoah  Valley.  While 
on  his  way  to  Winchester  Sheridan  found  young  McKinley,  then 
only  21  years  old,  rallying  the  panic-stricken  troops  at  Cedar 
Creek,  and  at  Berry ville  the  young  officer's  horse  was  killed 
under  him.  u  For  gallant  and  meritorious  services  at  the  battle 
of  the  Opiquan,  Cedar  Creek  and  Fisher's  Hill,"  reads  his  com- 
mission as  brevet-major,  and  it  is  signed  "  A.  Lincoln." 

ADMIRED  BY  YOUNG  MEN. 

Thus  William  McKinley,  at  a  time  of  his  life  when  most 
young  men  are  at  school  or  preparing  for  professional  life,  had 
experience  in  over  four  years  of  active  warfare  and  had  con- 
tributed as  many  years  of  his  life  to  active  military  service  of  his 
country  as  any  veteran  of  the  Civil  War.  This  is  one  of  the 
potent  holds  he  had  upon  the  young  men  of  the  country  who 
steadily  held  him  in  view  as  a  paragon  of  youthful  courage  and 
patriotism. 

The  war  over,  McKinley  found  himself  at  22,  a  man  without 
a  profession  and  means  to  live  on.  Military  life  still  had  many 
fascinations  for  him,  and  a  commission  in  the  regular  army  was 
within  the  reach  of  the  influence  he  was  now  able  to  exert.  That 
would  at  least  provide  him  with  a  living,  and  the  temptation  was 
strong.  His  sister,  Miss  Anna  McKinley,  a  woman  of  fine  judg- 
ment and  strong  character,  had  already  established  herself  as  a 


EARLY    LIFE  OF  PRESIDENT  McKINLEY.  39 

school  teacher  in  Canton,  O.,  and  she  proved  to  be-  the  pioneer  of 
the  McKinley  family  in  Stark  County.  It  was  largely  due  to  her 
forcible  arguments  that  the  young  soldier  laid  off  his  uniform 
and  devoted  himself  to  study  of  law. 

This  period  of  three  years  between  the  time  he  left  the  mili- 
tary service,  in  1865,  and  the  day  he  left  the  L,aw  School,  at 
Albany,  N.  Y.,  in  1868,  is  one  of  which  few  facts  are  known. 
The  man  who  knows  all  about  the  difficulties  and  struggles  with 
lean  purse  and  long  ambition  that  marked  those  years  has  never 
taken  any  one  into  his  confidence  concerning  them.  He  had  the 
advantage  of  the  law  library  of  Judge  Glidden,  in  whose  office  he 
was  entered  as  a  law  student.  That  able  jurist  took  great  interest 
in  his  pupil  and  gave  him  freely  of  his  knowledge.  When  the 
young  man  was  at  last  admitted  to  the  bar  Judge  Glidden  gave 
him  his  first  case.  This  is  always  a  memorable  event  in  the  life 
of  a  young  lawyer. 

"WON  HIS  FIRST  CASE. 

It  came  about  thus  :  McKinley  had  found  a  hole  in  the  wall 
outside  of  which  he  stuck  up  his  shingle  as  a  lawyer.  A  fortnight 
passed  and  so  did  all  clients.  Then  Judge  Glidden  handed  the 
half-discouraged  young  attorney  a  bundle  of  papers  with  the 
remark  : — 

"  Mac,  here  are  the  papers  in  a  case  which  is  coming  up 
to-morrow.  I  have  got  to  go  out  of  town  and  you  must  try  it." 

"  I  have  never  tried  a  case  yet,  you  know,  Judge  ! "  McKinley 
replied. 

"Well,  begin  on  this  one  then,"  Glidden  answered.  McKin- 
ley began  work  at  once,  and  after  studying  the  case  all  night  went  to 
court  next  day  and  won  the  suit.  Glidden  called  at  his  office  a 
few  days  afterward  and  handed  McKinley  $25,  which  he  refused 
to  take. 

"  It  is  too  much,  Judge,  for  one  day's  pay,"  the  conscientious 
young  attorney  said. 

"  Nonsense,  Mac,"  said  the  veteran.  "  Don't  let  that  worry 
you.  I  charged  them  $100  and  can  easily  afford  to  give  you  a 
quarter  of  it." 


40  EARLY    LIFE   OF   PRESIDENT   McKINLEY. 

In  a  case  which  came  to  him  soon  afterward  McKinley  won 
one  of  his  most  substantial  earlier  triumphs.  He  was  pitted 
against  John  McS  weeny,  one  of  the  most  brilliant  lawyers  at  the 
Ohio  bar.  It  was  a  suit  for  damages  for  malpractice  against  a 
surgeon,  who,  it  was  claimed,  had  set  a  broken  leg  so  unskilfully 
that  the  patient  was  made  bow-legged.  McSweeny  brought  his 
client  into  court,  and  after  he  had  told  his  story  he  bared  his  leg 
to  show  how  far  it  was  out  of  line. 

McKiuley,  for  the  defense,  demanded  that  the  plaintiff  bare 
the  other  leg  for  comparison.  The  court  upheld  this  demand,  in 
spite  of  McSweeny' s  vigorous  objection.  To  the  confusion  of  the 
plaintiff  and  his  counsel,  and  the  merriment  of  court  and  jury,  that 
leg  was  found  to  be  the  worse  bowed  of  the  two.  His  trousers  had 
concealed  his  natural  deformity. 

PARTNERSHIP  WI*TH  A  LEADING  LAWYER. 

"  My  client  seems  to  have  done  better  by  this  man  than  did 
nature  itself,"  said  Counsellor  McKinley,  "  and  I  move  that  the 
suit  be  dismissed  with  recommendation  that  he  have  his  right  leg 
broken  and  set  by  the  defendant  in  this  case."  The  plaintiff  was 
laughed  out  of  court.  Soon  after  this  success  Judge  Belden,  a 
leading  lawyer  of  Canton,  formed  a  partnership  with  the  young 
attorney  which  lasted  until  the  Judge's  death,  in  1870. 

He  had  already  won  his  way  so  that  the  people  in  that  year 
elected  him  Prosecuting  Attorney  of  Stark  County,  which  office 
he  filled  for  several  years.  Practice  now  flowed  in  to  him,  and  he 
speedily  won  repute  as  an  excellent  advocate.  He  is  credited 
with  making  some  of  the  best  jury  arguments  ever  heard  at  that 
bar.  When  elected  to  Congress  he  was  a  recognized  leader  of 
the  Stark  County  bar  and  had  one  of  the  best  general  practices  at 
that  bar. 

Another  case  in  which  he  especially  distinguished  himself  was 
that  of  a  number  of  miners  prosecuted  for  riot,  whom  he  defended  in 
an  appeal  to  the  j  ury  which  is  remembered  to  this  day  as  a  triumph 
of  eloquence  over  hard  fact.  It  was  the  first  opportunity  of  his 
career  to  test  his  deep  sympathy  with  wage-workers,  and  his  use 


COPYRIGHT,    BY    CLINEDENST,    WASHINGTON 

MRS.    WILLIAM    McKINLEY 


COPYRIGHT,    BY    CLINEOEN8T,    WASHINGTON 


PRESIDENT    MCKINLEY    EXAMINING    STATE    PAPERS 


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EARLY    LIFE   OF   PRESIDENT   McKINLEY.  41 

of  it    gave   him   a  hold    upon    their   gratitude    that    time   only 
strengthened. 

James  G.  Blaine,  in  his  "  Twenty  Years  of  Congress,"  wrote : 
(<  William  McKinley,  Jr.,  enteted  from  the  Canton  district.  He 
enlisted  in  an  Ohio  regiment  when  only  18  years  old,  and  won 
the  rank  of  major  by  meritorious  services.  The  interests  of  his 
constituents  and  his  own  bent  of  mind  led  him  to  the  study  of 
industrial  questions,  and  he  was  soon  recognized  in  the  House  as 
one  of  the  most  thorough  statisticians,  and  one  of  the  ablest 
defenders  of  the  doctrine  of  protection." 

SYMPATHY  WITH  TOILERS. 

The  Plumed  Knight  touched  with  his  trenchant  pen  the  very 
needle's  eye  of  character  which  placed  McKinley  where  he  stood. 
Sympathy  with  the  toilers  brought  him  to  the  study  of  industrial 
questions,  to  which  he  gave  the  same  thorough  analysis  and 
intense  application  that  he  gave  to  his  law  cases.  In  this  respect 
he  was  like  Garfield,  having  given  like  thorough  study  to  political 
subjects.  It  is  said  that  Rutherford  B.  Hayes  took  occasion  once 
to  advise  McKinley,  who  seemed  destined  for  public  preferment, 
to  confine  his  political  studies  as  far  as  possible  to  some  partic- 
ular subject,  to  master  that  so  as  to  be  recognized  as  its  most 
learned  expounder.  "There  is  the  tariff  and  protection,"  he  is 
said  to  have  advised.  "  It  affords  just  the  field  for  such  endeavor 
as  I  have  described.  In  the  near  future  it  is  likely  to  become 
one  of  the  leading  issues  upon  which  the  voters  of  this  nation  will 
divide  probably  for  many  years." 

This  conversation  may  have  occurred,  but  the  fact  remains 
that  the  natural  bent  of  McKinley' s  mind  and  the  tendency  to 
sympathize  with  the  toilers  had  early  turned  his  intellect  toward 
that  precise  question.  That  was  his  theme  when  very  early  in 
his  legal  career  he  took  the  stump  and  discussed  political  ques- 
tions in  his  own  and  neighboring  counties,  to  which  his  reputation 
as  an  attractive  speaker  early  penetrated. 

Major  McKinley  was  only  34  years  old  when,  in  1877,  the 
people  of  the  Canton  district  elected  him  to  represent  them  in 


42 


EARLY    LIFE  OF  PRESIDENT   McKINLEY. 


Congress.  Henry  Clay  and  James  G.  Blaine  are  the  most 
conspicuous  statesmen  who  began  Congressional  careers  at  an 
early  age.  It  was  a  Democratic  House,  and  the  new  member 
began  his  service  at  the  foot  of  the  unimportant  Law  Revision 
Committee.  His  first  term  passed  with  no  public  speech  of  note 
to  his  credit,  but  Speaker  Samuel  J.  Randall  had  noticed  the 

studious  application 
of  the  young  Ohioan 
and  his  shrewdness 
in  committee  work. 
Hence,  at  the 
outset  of  his  second 
term  McKinley  was 
placed  on  the  Judici- 
ary Committee  next 
to  Thomas  Brackett 
Reed.  His  ambition 
and  mental  prompt- 
ings led  him  to  pre- 
fer the  Ways  and 
Means  Committee, 
but  he  was  disap- 
pointed at  that  time. 
HON.  WILLIAM  McKINLEY.  However,  early  in 

the  session  the  bill  of  Fernando  Wood  gave  him  his  chance,  and 
he  riddled  that  measure  with  a  grasp  of  fact  and  merciless  logic 
that  marked  him  as  one  of  the  masters  of  protection  knowledge. 
McKinley' s  Congressional  prominence  may  be  said  to  have 
fairly  begun  with  the  retirement  of  Garfield  from  the  Ways  and 
Means  Committee  after  his  election  to  the  Presidency  in  1880. 
McKinley  was  appointed  to  the  vacancy,  and  from  then  until  he 
retired  from  Congress  in  1891,  after  ten  years  of  service  that  would 
have  been  continuous  except  for  that  portion  of  the  Forty-eighth 
Congress  when  the  Democrats  unseated  him,  he  remained  upon 
that  most  important  committee.  His  work  was  so  strong  and  in- 
cisive that  the  Democrats,  fearing  his  abilities,  three  times  sought 


EARLY   LIFE  OF   PRESIDENT   McKINLEY.  43 

Ills  second  session  debate  on  the  tariff-revision  bill  to  throw  him 
out  of  Congress  by  gerrymandering  his  district.  Twice  placed 
in  districts  so  fixed  that  the  Democratic  majority  seemed  assured, 
he  nevertheless  was  elected  by  substantial  majorities. 

In  1890  an  international  contest  was  brought  into  the  narrow 
limits  of  his  Congressional  district.  The  order  had  gone  forth 
from  Democratic  free-trade  headquarters  that  the  peerless  cham- 
pion of  protection  must  be  beaten  at  any  cost.  So  his  district  was 
patched  up  until  it  showed  a  nominal  Democratic  plurality  of 
3,100  votes.  Most  men  would  have  shirked  such  a  contest  and 
retired  upon  laurels  already  won. 

WENT  BOLDLY  INTO  THE  FIGHT. 

Not  so  McKinley.  His  Scotch-Irish  blood  was  up,  and  he 
threw  himself  into  the  fight  with  an  impetuosity  that  he  had 
never  before  exhibited.  He  actually  carried  three  of  the  four 
counties  of  his  district,  but  was  beaten  by  a  slender  plurality  of 
302  votes.  He  had  pulled  down  the  Democratic  majority  2800 
votes,  and  what  his  enemies  sought  to  make  his  Waterloo  proved 
to  be  a  McKinley  triumph  and  turned  Republican  thought  in  the 
country  toward  him  as  the  leader  of  the  greater  struggle  of  1896. 
It,  however,  closed  his  Congressional  career. 

McKinley  in  Washington  was  a  worker  persistent,  methodi- 
cal and  indefatigable.  He  was  never  found  in  the  haunts  of  con- 
vivial men.  That  side  of  life  which  fascinates  and  has  destroyed 
the  usefulness  of  many  brilliant  men  had  no  fascination  for  him. 
His  work-day  was  spent  in  committee  or  in  the  House,  and  the 
business  of  the  day  over,  he  went  straight  to  his  home  and  his 
invalid  wife.  Tom  Murray,  who  for  years  was  manager  of  the 
House  restaurant,  says  that  for  years  he  watched  his  daily 
coming  for  a  bowl  of  crackers  and  milk,  which  consumed,  he 
returned  to  his  work  and  wrought  while  his  colleagues  regaled 
upon  terrapin  and  champagne. 

And  yet  the  hard-working,  non-convivial  member  from 
Canton  was  popular  with  his  fellow-members  on  both  sides  of 
the  House.  He  led  a  bare  majority  of  twenty-two  through  all 


44  EARLY   LIFE   OF    PRESIDENT  McKINLEY 

the  perils  of  conflicting  interests.  He,  too,  found  time  to 
champion  the  Federal  Elections  bill,  and  to  draw  to  its  support 
many  men  from  widely  separated  territory,  and  representing 
many  diverse  local  interests. 

It  was  McKinley's  Congressional  record  that  made  him 
illustrious.  Beginning  at  the  foot  of  the  ladder  in  committee 
appointment,  he  forged  steadily  to  the  front.  Leadership  was 
won,  not  conceded.  It  was  his  presentment  of  the  great  tariff 
bill  that  crowded  the  House  of  Representatives  on  that  ever- 
memorable  May  7,  1890,  when  he  reported  it  and  opened  a  debate 
which  has  become  historical.  His  contrast  between  protection 
and  free  trade,  which  closed  that  famous  forensic  utterance, 
paints  at  once  a  picture  and  a  prophecy. 

INDEPENDENCE  AND  PROSPERITY. 

"We  have  now,"  he  said,  "enjoyed  twenty-nine  years  con- 
tinuously of  protective  tariff  laws — the  longest  uninterrupted 
period  in  which  that  policy  has  prevailed  since  the  formation  of 
the  Federal  Government — and  we  find  ourselves  at  the  end  of 
that  period  in  a  condition  of  independence  and  prosperity  the 
like  of  which  has  no  parallel  in  the  recorded  history  of  the  world. 
In  all  that  goes  to  make  a  nation  great  and  strong  and  inde- 
pendent we  have  made  extraordinary  strides.  We  have  a 
surplus  revenue  and  a  spotless  credit. 

"  To  reverse  this  system  means  to  stop  the  progress  of  this 
Republic.  It  means  to  turn  the  masses  from  ambition,  courage 
and  hope  to  dependence,  degradation  and  despair.  Talk  about 
depression  !  We  would  have  it  then  in  its  fulness.  Everything 
would  indeed  be  cheap,  but  how  costly  when  measured  by  the 
degradation  that  would  ensue  !  When  merchandise  is  cheapest, 
men  are  poorest,  and  the  most  distressing  experiences  of  our 
country — aye,  of  all  history — have  been  when  everything  was 
lowest  and  cheapest,  measured  in  gold,  and  everything  was 
highest  and  dearest,  measured  by  labor." 

When  Major  McKinley,  in  1890,  lost  his  gerrymandered 
district  by  the  narrow  margin  of  302  votes,  there  was  no  doubt 


EARLY   LIFE    OF   PRESIDENT   McKlNLEY.  45 

In  the  minds  of  Ohio  Republicans  as  to  who  should  and  must  be 
their  candidate  for  Governor.  It  was  no  consolation  purse  that 
he  was  to  race  for.  It  was  simply  and  solely  that  the 
fortune  of  hostile  legislative  control  had  placed  within  reach  as 
candidate  for  the  Chief  Executive  of  the  State  a  man  of  spotless 
honor,  whose  many  services  made  him  the  most  popular  man  in 
the  Commonwealth.  The  room  in  the  northwest  corner  of  the 
State  House  in  Columbus  is  brimful  of  history. 

A  Secretary  of  the  Treasury,  a  Chief  Justice  of  the  United 
States  and  a  President  sat  there  as  the  Chief  Executive  of  the 
State  before  being  called  to  higher  preferment.  Nearly  every 
man  who  has  occupied  the  chief  chair  therein  has  been  or  still  is 
a  vital  force  in  the  political  or  business  history  of  the  nation. 
No  other  State  has  ever  contributed  as  many  Governors  to  the 
National  Executive  in  chair  or  council. 

A  FAITHFUL  PUBLIC  OFFICER. 

Governor  McKinley's  career  of  four  years  in  the  Executive 
Chair  of  Ohio  was  exemplification  of  the  fact  that  the  most  inter- 
esting period  of  a  statesman's  public  service  is  not  necessarily 
that  in  which  he  enjoys  the  greatest  degree  of  public  prominence. 
That  office  claimed,  almost  monopolized,  his  attention,  and  local 
interests  were  never  in  the  remotest  degree  subordinated  to  wider 
political  necessities.  But  this  lessened  neither  the  number  nor 
loyalty  of  his  friends  in  all  parts  of  the  country. 

His  solicitude  for  the  toilers  was  marked.  His  sympathy 
with  the  eight-hour  movement  was  early  manifested.  He  was  a 
conspicuous  champion  of  arbitration  in  the  settlement  of  labor 
difficulties.  These  convictions  appeared  in  his  recommendations 
of  legislation  to  protect  workingmen  in  hazardous  occupations,  to- 
secure  them  more  considerate  treatment  as  well  as  more  safety  in 
the  pursuit  of  their  avocations.  It  was  upon  his  recommendation 
that  the  Ohio  law  was  passed  requiring  that  all  street  cars  should 
be  furnished  with  vestibules  to  protect  the  motormen  and  con- 
ductors from,  inclement  weather. 

But  it  was  along  the  line  of  arbitration — authorized  but  not 


46  EARLY    LIFE   OF   PRESIDENT   McKINLEY. 

compulsory  which  he  regarded  as  the  true  solution  of  labor  trou- 
bles—that his  best  work  was  done.  During  his  first  term  the 
State  Board  of  Arbitration  was  created  upon  the  Massachusetts 
plan,  but  he  made  its  workings  the  subject  of  his  personal  super- 
vision during  all  his  administration.  During  the  existence  of  the 
Board,  twenty-eight  strikes,  some  of  them  involving  2000  men, 
were  investigated,  and  in  fifteen  cases  the  Board  found  a  common 
basis  upon  which  both  parties  could  agree. 

SENDS  RELIEF  TO  MINERS  IN   DISTRESS. 

No  account  of  Governor  McKinley's  connection  with  labor 
problems  would  be  complete  without  mention  of  the  tireless  energy 
he  displayed  in  securing  relief  for  the  2000  miners  of  the  Hocking 
Valley  mining  district,  who,  early  in  1895,  were  reported  out  of 
work  and  destitute.  The  news  reached  him  at  midnight,  but  by  5 
A.  M.,  on  his  own  responsibility,  a  car,  loaded  with  provisions, 
worth  $1000,  was  dispatched  to  the  afflicted  district.  Appeals 
made  subsequently  to  the  Boards  of  Trade  or  Chambers  of  Com- 
merce of  the  great  cities  of  the  State  increased  this  initial  bene- 
faction to  $32,796  worth  of  clothing  and  provisions. 

Governor  McKinley's  two  terms  as  the  State's  Executive 
were  on  the  whole  smooth  and  harmonious,  but  he  was  repeatedly 
called  upon  to  solve  perplexing  problems  in  the  relations  of  capital 
and  labor.  In  1894  the  State  Government  received  no  fewer  than 
fifteen  calls  for  State  troops  to  aid  in  enforcing  the  law.  No  such 
demand  had  been  made  since  the  Civil  War,  but  Governor  Mc- 
Kinley,  obeying  the  dictates  of  his  judgment,  answered  with  such 
popular  acceptation  that  even  those  labor  organizations  which  are 
most  radical  in  opposing  any  action  in  labor  troubles  on  the  part 
of  the  State  militia  were  forced  to  admit  the  wisdom  of  his  course. 


CHAPTER  II. 

A  Man  of  Noble  Ideals  and  Unselfish  Aims — His  Domestic 
Fidelity — A   Governor  of  Rare  Sagacity — His   Suc- 
cessful  Administration   as   President. 

NO  events  in  the  history  of  President  McKinley  commended 
him  more  to  the  confidence  and  respect  of  his  fellow-citizens 
than  his  honorable  course  in  two  national  conventions  of  his 
party,  when,  had  he  shown  a  momentary  departure  in  steadfast 
loyalty  in  suppor:  of  the  men  he.  had  been  instructed  to  vote  for, 
he  might  have  himself  been  the  nominee.  Since  1876  he  had 
borne  a  prominent  part  in  Republican  national  conventions.  He 
was  a  member  of  the  Committee  on  Resolutions  of  the  convention 
of  1880,  when  the  man  who  led  the  Ohio  delegation,  pledged  to 
the  candidacy  of  Senator  John  Sherman,  and  who  placed  that 
veteran  statesman  in  nomination  in  a  speech  that  was  one  of  the 
masterpieces  of  his  public  utterances,  was  himself  made  the 
nominee.  This  was  James  A.  Garfield. 

Again,  in  1884,  he  was  the  chosen  member  of  the  Committee 
on  Resolutions  who  drafted  the  party  platform  with  such  skill 
that  a  newspaper  raised  his  name  to  its  column  head  with  the 
words,  "Let  the  man  who  wrote  the  platform  of  '84  be  our 
standard-bearer  for  1888." 

Perhaps  McKinley  himself  realized  in  1888  that  he  then 
hardly  measured  up  to  the  standard  of  the  tried  and  true  vet- 
erans in  the  public  service  whose  names  were  to  go  before  that 
convention.  Certainly  no  one  could  have  declared  such  fact 
more  unhesitatingly  or  earnestly  than  he  did.  It  was  an  occa- 
sion never  to  be  forgotten,  and  it  demonstrated  even  then  that 
Mr.  McKinley  was  a  Presidential  possibility  who  could  afford  to 
bide  his  time  and  need  not  crowd  veterans  in  public  favor  out  of 
a  nomination  which  for  him  could  have  no  charm  unless  fairly 
won. 

The  balloting  for  President  had  reached  the  fourth  call  when 

47 


48  A   MAN    OF   HONOR  AND    INTEGRITY. 

a  Connecticut  delegate  cast  his  vote  for  McKinley.  As  soon  as 
the  vote  was  announced  McKinley  rose  in  his  seat  and  lifted  his 
hand  for  recognition  of  the  Chair.  Before  he  could  utter  half  a 
dozen  words  a  great  shout,  "  McKinley  "  went  up  from  all  over 
the  convention.  Unshaken  by  this  evidence  of  popular  esteem, 

he  said  : 

MANLY  SPEECH  IN  CONVENTION. 

"  Mr.  Chairman  and  Gentlemen  of  the  Convention  :  I  am 
here  as  one  of  the  chosen  representatives  of  my  State  ;  I  am  here 
by  resolution  of  its  Republican  convention,  passed  without  one 
dissenting  voice,  commanding  me  to  cast  my  vote  for  John 
Sherman  and  to  use  every  worthy  endeavor  for  his  nomination. 
I  accepted  this  trust  because  my  heart  and  judgment  were  in 
accord  with  the  letter  and  spirit  and  purpose  of  that  resolution. 
It  has  pleased  certain  delegates  to  cast  their  votes  for  me.  I  am 
not  insensible  of  the  honor  they  would  do  me,  but  in  the  presence 
of  the  duty  resting  upon  me,  I  cannot  remain  silent  with  honor ; 
I  cannot  consistently  with  the  credit  of  the  State  whose  creden- 
tials I  bear,  and  which  has  trusted  me  ;  I  cannot  with  honorable 
fidelity  to  John  Sherman,  who  has  trusted  me  in  his  cause  and 
with  his  confidence  ;  I  cannot  consistently  with  my  own  views  of 
my  personal  integrity  consent,  or  seem  to  consent,  to  permit  my 
name  to  be  used  as  a  candidate  before  the  convention. 

UI  would  not  restrict  myself  if  I  could  find  it  in  my  heart  to 
do,  but  I  cannot  permit  that  to  be  done  which  could  even  be 
ground  for  any  one  to  suspect  that  I  wavered  in  my  loyalty  to 
Ohio  or  my  devotion  to  the  chief  of  her  choice  and  the  chief  of 
mine.  I  do  not  request — I  demand — that  no  delegates  who 
would  not  cast  reflection  upon  me  shall  cast  a  ballot  for  me  " 

When  McKinley,  who  spoke  in  tones  whose  earnestness  and 
sincerity  could  not  be  doubted,  concluded  his  speech  his  audience 
applauded  him  to  the  echo.  It  was  so  characteristic  of  the  man 
that  his  name  was  not  mentioned  by  any  as  a  candidate.  He  had 
gained  another  popular  victory. 

Four  years  later  at  Minneapolis  McKinley  again  had  oppor- 
tunity to  show  that  he  valued  honor  above  even  nomination  to 


TEMPLE    OF     MUSIC    AT    THE     PAN     AMERICAN     EXPOSITION 

IN   THIS   BUILDING   PRESIDENT   McKINLEY   WAS  ASSASSINATED 

WHILE   HOLDING   A   PUBLIC  RECEPTION 


BUILDING    OF    ETHNOLOGY    AT     BUFFALO 


PRESIDENT    THEODORE    ROOSEVELT 


THE     WIDOW     OF    OUR     MARTYRED     PRESIDENT 

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ELECTRIC     TOWER     AT    THE     PAN     AMERICAN     EXPOSITION 


UNITED    STATES    GOVERNMENT    BUILDINU    AT    BUFFALO 


i.*..J  1  «iGMT"lS93,    6Y    GEORGE    G.    ROCKWOOD,    N.  Y. 

COLONEL    THEODORE    ROOSEVELT 


A   MAN   OF    HONOR  AND   INTEGRITY.  49 

'.he  highest  office  in  the  Republic.  He  was  the  chairman  of  the 
convention.  When  Ohio  was  reached  on  the  first  ballot  for 
President  the  leader  of  the  delegation  announced  its  full  vote  for 
William  McKinley.  This  was  the  signal  for  an  outburst  of 
applause  from  floor  and  gallery,  as  spontaneous  as  it  was  vocif- 
erous. Hurried  consultations  were  held  by  many  State  dele- 
gations, and  amid  the  cheers  and  applause  which  still  continued 
one  leader  after  another  arose  to  the  change  of  his  State  to 
McKinley.  The  Major,  evidently  deeply  affected  by  the  demon- 
stration, but  firm  and  composed,  rose  in  his  place  and  said : — 
"  I  challenge  the  vote  of  Ohio." 

DETERMINED  TO  VOTE  FOR  HIM. 

"  The  gentleman  is  not  a  member  of  the  delegation  at  pres- 
ent," said  Governor  Foraker,  who  was  chairman  of  the  Ohio  rep- 
resentatives. 

"I  am  a  delegate  from  that  State,"  cried  McKinley,  in  tones 
that  could  be  heard  above  the  confusion  and  uproar,  "and  I 
demand  that  my  vote  be  counted." 

"  Your  alternate  voted  for  you,"  Governor  Foraker  per- 
sisted. 

The  vote  of  the  delegation  was  polled  nevertheless,  and  the 
solitary  vote  which  was  cast  for  Harrison,  was  Major  McKinley's. 
Harrison  was  nominated,  and  Chairman  McKinley,  calling 
Colonel  Elliott  F.  Shepard  to  the  chair,  moved  to  make  the  nomi- 
nation unanimous. 

"  Your  turn  will  come  in  '96,"  shouted  one  of  the  182  dele* 
gates,  who,  despite  his  protest,  voted  for  him  in  that  convention. 
This  prophecy  was  fulfilled. 

Two  things  commended  Mr.  McKinley  mightly  to  the  aver- 
age man — he  could  fight  and  he  loved  his  wife.  While  these  at 
first  thought  seem  to  be  virtues  common  enough,  yet  he  who  has 
them  has  not  far  to  go  to  make  him  a  man  complete.  He  also 
loved  children  with  the  pathetic  love  of  the  man  whose  name  will 
live  only  in  history,  for  the  two  children  of  his  early  married  life 
died,  aud  his  wife  was  a  confirmed  invalid. 


50  A   MAN   OF   HONOR  AND   INTEGRITY. 

It  was  early  in  his  struggles  with  the  law  in  Canton  thai 
William  McKinley  met  Ida  Saxton,  a  beauty,  the  daughter  of  the 
richest  banker  in  the  town,  and  a  girl  after  his  own  heart.  He 
has  never  got  over  the  surprise  and  joy  which  filled  his  soul, 
when,  having  made  up  his  mind  to  put  his  future  happiness  to 
touch,  he  asked  Ida  Saxton  to  be  his  wife  and  she  said  yes.  It  is 
said  that  her  father  confirmed  this  when  along  with  his  parental 
blessing  he  said  :  "  You  are  the  only  inan.jof  all  that  have  sought 
her  that  I  would  have  givjen  her  to." 

It  was  in  1871,  after  he  had  won  his  first  success  at  the  bar 
and  had  been  successful  as  Prosecuting  Attorney.  They  went  to 
housekeeping  in  the  same  house  to  which  he  returned  after  his 
long  service  in  Congress  and  his  two  terms  as  Governor.  In  that 
pleasant  little  villa  his  two  children  were  born.  One  lived  to  be 
nearly  four  years  old,  while  the  other  died  in  early  infancy. 

LARGE  HEART  AND  WARM   NATURE. 

It  was  soon  after  the  birth  of  the  second  daughter  that  the 
fact  became  apparent  that  Mrs.  McKinley  would  be  a  lifelong 
invalid.  Much  could  be  written  of  the  tenderness  of  the  strong 
and  virile  man  to  his  invalid  wife,  but  the  idle  gossip  which  has 
already  been  written  upon  that  subject  has  hurt  where  it  was 
thought  to  comfort.  Newspapers  have  thoughtlessly  dwelt  upon 
this  affliction,  singing  praises  of  his  constancy  and  devotion  when 
even  kind  words  carried  with  them  a  penetrating  sting. 

It  is  enough  to  say  that  this  husband  and  wife  have  never 
been  parted  except  during  exigent  work  in  campaigning.  During 
his  service  as  Congressman  in  Washington  she  was  always  with 
him,  embroidering  the  slippers  which  constituted  her  principal 
employment  in  his  absence  until  the  number  which  solaced  the 
sufferers  in  hospitals  is  said  to  amount  to  nearly  four  thousand. 
From  Congressional  duty  to  his  wife  and  back  to  duty  was  the 
round  of  his  Washington  life. 

While  Governor  of  Ohio  four  rooms  in  the  Chittenden  House 
in  Columbus  were  their  home.  An  early  breakfast  and  he  was 
off  to  his  executive  duties.  It  was  remarked  that  he  always  left 


A   MAN   OF  HONOR  AND   INTEGRITY.  61 

his  hotel  by  a  side  entrance,  and  when  well  across  the  street  he 
turned  and  lifted  his  hat,  while  a  handkerchief  fluttered  for  an 
instant  from  the  window  of  his  home.  Then  the  Governor,  with 
a  pleased  smile,  walked  jauntily  off  toward  the  State  House.  This 
was  repeated  every  evening,  showing  that  loving  watch  was  kept 
at  that  window.  Occasionally,  weather  and  health  permitting,  Mrs. 
McKinley  indulged  in  a  carriage  ride,  her  husband  always 
accompanying  her.  Always  on  Sunday  the  Governor  took  an 
early  train  for  Canton,  and  going  to  his  mother's  house,  accom- 
panied her  to  the  First  M.  E.  Church  of  which  he  was  a  member. 
He  was  superintendent  of  its  Sunday-school  until  public  duty 
took  him  to  Washington. 

HIS  PERSONAL  APPEARANCE. 

Major  McKinley  was  five  feet  seven  inches  in  height  and  as 
straight  as  Michael  Angelo's  statue  of  David.  He  undoubtedly 
looked  like  the  great  Napoleon,  although  he  said  more  than  once 
that  he  did  not  like  to  be  reminded  of  the  resemblance.  He  had 
the  same  grave,  dignified  mouth,  the  same  high,  broad  and  full 
forehead  and  the  same  heavy  lower  j  aw.  He  was  a  better  looking 
man  than  was  Napoleon,  and  his  bright,  dark  eyes  shone  out 
under  brows  which  were  less  heavy  than  those  of  Bonaparte,  and 
his  frown  was  by  no  means  so  terrible  as  that  of  the  Little  Cor- 
poral. He  appreciated,  however,  the  value  of  dignity,  always 
dressed  in  a  double-breasted  frock  coat  and  crowned  his  classic  head 
with  a  tall  silk  hat. 

Personally,  Major  McKinley  was  a  charming  man  to  meet. 
His  presence  was  prepossessing,  though  in  conversation  he  rarely 
developed  brilliancy  or  ready  wit.  Diguity  and  repose,  rather 
than  force  and  action,  appeared  as  his  strong  characteristics  to 
the  man  who  met  him  casually.  Yet  his  campaigns  showed  that 
when  time  for  action  came  he  could  go  through  labor  that  wears 
out  a  corps  of  experienced  reporters,  and  come  out  of  the  immense 
strain  of  six  weeks'  constant  canvass  with  little  loss  of  flesh  and 
comparatively  few  signs  of  fatigue.  The  Gubernational  char- 
paign  of  1893  was  notable  in  this  respect. 


52  A   MAN   OF   HONOR  AND   INTEGRITY. 

With  the  chances  favoring  him  and  business  depression  pre- 
vailing, many  a  man  would  have  trusted  something  to  luck  and 
worked  less  persistently  and  energetically  than  under  other 
circumstances.  But  that  was  not  McKinley's  way.  He 
realized  that  his  boom  for  the  Presidency  depended  very  largely 
upon  the  size  of  his  majority,  and  worked  like  a  Trojan.  Those 
who  followed  him  in  the  famous  Congressional  campaign  of  1890 
against  John  G.  Warwick,  and  again  in  1891,  when  he  canvassed 
the  State  against  Campbell  with  such  signal  success,  and  were  a 
third  time  with  him  in  1893  say  that  he  worked  as  never  before. 

In  the  speeches  he  made  one  notable  characteristic  was 
always  prominent.  He  did  not  make  enemies.  No  one  ever 
heard  McKinley  abuse  a  political  opponent  from  the  stump. 
Few  men  have  ever  heard  him.  speak  with  disrespect  or  malignity 
of  one  in  private  life.  Only  among  his  close  confidants,  and  they 
were  carefully  chosen  and  not  numerous,  did  he  allow  himself 
to  speak  his  mind  fully. 

ELECTED  AND  INAUGURATED. 

After  a  very  exciting  campaign  in  1896,  Mr.  McKinley  was 
elected  President,  and  was  inaugurated  with  most  imposing  cere- 
monies in  March,  1897.  His  administration  was  characterized  by 
wise  and  successful  statesmanship,  and  as  the  period  for  a  new 
election  drew  near  it  became  evident  that  he  would  be  again  the 
unanimous  choice  of  his  party  to  be  their  standard-bearer  in  the 
campaign  of  1900. 

An  extraordinary  session  of  Congress  was  called  by  President 
McKinley  two  days  after  he  took  the  oath  of  office  on  the  steps  of 
the  Capitol.  It  met  in  pursuance  to  his  proclamation  at  noon  on 
March  15.  The  special  message  transmitted  by  him  to  both 
Houses  on  the  opening  day  was  brief.  It  explained  the  deficien- 
cies in  the  revenues,  reviewed  the  bond  issues  of  the  last  adminis- 
tration, and  urged  Congress  promptly  to  correct  the  then  existing 
condition  by  passing  a  tariff  bill  that  would  supply  ample  revenues 
for  the  support  of  the  Government  and  the  liquidation  of  the 
public  debt, 


A   MAN   OF   HONOR  AND   INTEGRITY.  53 

No  other  subject  of  legislation  was  mentioned  in  the  message, 
and  the  tariff  bill  was  the  all-absorbing  feature  of  the  session. 
The  Republican  members  of  the  Ways  and  Means  Committee 
of  the  preceding  House  had  been  at  work  throughout  the  short 
session,  which  ended  March  4,  giving  hearings  and  preparing  the 
bill  which  was  to  be  submitted  at  the  extra  session. 

Three  days  after  the  session  opened  the  Tariff  bill  was 
reported  to  the  House  by  the  Ways  and  Means  Committee,  and 
thirteen  days  later,  March  31,  1897,  ^  passed  the  House.  It 
went  to  the  Senate,  was  referred  to  the  Committee  on  Finance, 
and  the  Republican  members  of  that  committee  spent  a  month 
and  three  days  in  its  consideration  and  in  preparing  the  amend- 
ments, which  were  submitted  to  the  Senate  May  4.  Its  consider- 
ation was  begun  in  the  Senate  May  7,  and  exactly  two  months 
later,  July  7,  it  passed  the  Senate  with  872  amendments. 

TARIFF  BILL  PROMPTLY  SIGNED. 

The  bill  then  went  to  conference,  where,  after  a  ten  days' 
struggle,  on  July  17,  a  complete  agreement  was  reached  by 
which  the  Senate  receded  from  118  amendments  and  the  House 
from  511.  The  others,  243  in  number,  were  compromised.  The 
conference  report  was  adopted  by  the  House  July  19,  at  the 
conclusion  of  twelve  hours  of  continuous  debate.  The  report 
was  taken  up  in  the  Senate  July  20,  and  adopted  Saturday, 
July  24.  The  Tariff  bill  was  signed  by  the  President  the 
same  day. 

In  August  President  McKinley  promulgated  amendments 
to  the  civil  service  rules  which  elicited  enthusiastic  praise  from 
civil  service  reformers.  The  order  considered  of  most  importance 
provided  "that  no  removal  shall  be  made  from  any  position  subject 
to  competitive  examination  except  for  just  cause  and  upon 
written  charges  filed  with  the  head  of  the  department  or  other 
appointing  officer,  and  of  which  the  accused  shall  have  full 
notice  and  an  opportunity  to  make  defense." 

Through  the  Hon.  Stewart  L.  Woodford,  American  Minister 
to  Spain,  our  Cabinet  at  Washington  addressed  a  note  in 


54  A   MAN   OF   HONOR  AND   INTEGRITY. 

September  to  the  Spanish  government  concerning  the  war  in  Cuba, 
urging  that  the  most  strenuous  efforts  be  made  to  bring  it  to  an 
end,  and  offering  mediation  between  the  contending  parties. 
Spain's  reply,  which  was  received  in  November,  was  considered 
satisfactory  and  not  likely  to  lead  to  any  rupture  between  the 
two  countries. 

In  February,  1898,  an  incident  occurred  which  created 
universal  comment.  A  letter  was  written  by  the  Spanish 
Minister  at  Washington,  Senor  De  Lome,  reflecting  seriously 
upon  President  McKinley,  in  connection  with  the  policy  our 
administration  was  pursuing  toward  the  government  of  Spain 
with  regard  to  the  insurrection  in  Cuba.  This  letter  was  written 
by  De  Lome  to  a  friend,  but  failed  in  some  way  to  reach  its 
destination,  and  was  made  public.  Public  indignation  was 
expressed  at  this  perfidy  of  the  Spanish  Minister,  and  he  was 
compelled  to  resign. 

INSURRECTION  IN  CUBA. 

The  struggle  in  Cuba  for  independence  continued  to  be  the 
one  absorbing  topic  that  occupied  the  attention  of  Congress. 
General  Weyler  ordered  all  the  inhabitants  of  Cuba  who  were 
suspected  of  sympathizing  with  the  insurgents  into  the  town, 
where  they  were  left  to  obtain  the  necessaries  of  life  as  best  they 
could.  This  act,  which  was  pronounced  inhuman  by  the  Ameri- 
can people,  resulted  in  the  death  of  tens  of  thousands  of  men, 
women  and  children  by  starvation.  Meanwhile,  accurate  reports 
of  the  appalling  situation  in  Cuba  were  brought  by  several  mem- 
bers of  Congress  who  visited  the  island  with  a  view  to  ascertain- 
ing the  exact  facts. 

These  reports  so  inflamed  the  Senate  and  House  of  Repre- 
sentatives that  a  number  of  resolutions  were  introduced  demand- 
ing that  belligerent  rights  should  be  granted  to  the  Cubans,  and 
further  that  the  United  States  should  intervene  with  force  of  arms 
to  end  the  war  in  Cuba,  and  secure  the  independence  of  the  island. 
These  resolutions,  which  were  referred  to  the  Committee  on 
Foreign  Relations,  were  indicative  of  the  temper  of  Congress. 


A   MAN   OF   HONOR  AND   INTEGRITY.  §i 

A  profound  sensation  was  created  by  the  destruction  of  the 
United  States  battleship  "  Maine  "  in  the  harbor  of  Havana.  The 
"  Maine"  was  lying  in  the  harbor,  having  been  sent  to  Cuba  on  a 
friendly  visit.  On  the  evening  of  February  15,  a  terrific  explosion 
took  place  on  board  the  ship,  by  which  266  sailors  and  officers  lost 
their  lives  and  the  vessel  was  wrecked.  The  cause  of  the  explo- 
sion was  not  apparent.  The  wounded  sailors  of  the  "  Maine"  were 
unable  to  explain  it.  The  explosion  shook  the  whole  city 
of  Havana,  and  the  windows  were  broken  in  many  of  the  houses. 
The  wounded  sailors  stated  that  the  explosion  took  place  while 
they  were  asleep,  so  that  they  could  give  no  particulars  as  to  the 
cause. 

The  Government  at  Washington  and  the  whole  country  were 
horrified  at  the  destruction  of  one  of  our  largest  cruisers  and  the 
loss  of  so  many  of  our  brave  sailors-  The  excitement  throughout 
the  country  was  intense.  The  chief  interest  in  the  "  Maine"  dis- 
aster now  centered  upon  the  cause  of  the  explosion  that  so  quickly 
sent  her  to  the  bottom  of  Havana  habor. 

MESSAGE  TO  CONGRESS. 

A  Naval  Board  of  Inquiry  went  to  Havana  and  proceeded 
promptly  to  investigate  the  causes  of  the  explosion  that  destroyed 
the  battleship. 

Upon  receiving  the  report  of  the  Board  of  Inquiry,  President 
McKinley  transmitted  it  to  Congress,  and  with  it  a  message  which 
he  closed  as  follows  : 

"  In  view  of  these  facts  and  of  these  considerations  I  ask  the 
Congress  to  authorize  and  empower  the  President  to  take  measures 
to  secure  a  full  and  final  termination  of  the  hostilities  between 
the  Government  of  Spain  and  the  people  of  Cuba,  and  to  secure  in 
the  island  the  establishment  of  a  stable  government  capable  of 
maintaining  order  and  observing  its  international  obligations,  en- 
suring peace  and  tranquillity  and  the  security  of  its  citizens  as 
well  as  our  own,  and  to  use  the  military  and  naval  forces  of  the 
United  States  as  may  be  necessary  for  these  purposes. 

"  And  in  the  interest  of   humanity  and  to  aid  in  preserving 


66  A  MAN    OF   HONOR  AND   INTEGRITY. 

the  lives  of  the  starving  people  of  that  island,  I  recommend 
that  the  distribution  of  food  and  supplies  be  continued,  and  that 
an  appropriation  be  made  out  of  the  public  treasury  to  supplement 
the  charity  of  our  citizens. 

"  The  issue  is  now  with  Congress.  It  is  a  solemn  responsi- 
bility. I  have  exhausted  every  effort  to  relieve  the  intolerable 
condition  of  affairs  which  is  at  our  doors.  Prepared  to  execute 
every  obligation  imposed  upon  me  by  the  Constitution  and  the 
law,  I  await  your  action." 

Congress  debated  a  week  over  the  recommendations  con- 
tained in  the  President's  message,  and  on  April  18,  both  Houses 
united  in  passing  a  series  of  resolutions  calling  for  the  interven- 
tion of  the  United  States  to  compel  Spain  to  withdraw  her  forces 
from  Cuba,  and  thus  permit  the  authorities  at  Washington  to 
provide  the  island  with  a  free  and  independent  government.  The 
demand  contained  in  the  resolution  was  sent  to  the  Spanish 
Minister  at  Washington  on  April  20,  who  at  once  called  for  his 
passports  and  left  for  Canada. 

AMERICAN   MINISTER  LEAVES  MADRID. 

On  the  same  date  the  ultimatum  of  our  Government  was 
sent  to  United  States  Minister  Woodford,  at  Madrid,  who  was 
curtly  handed  his  passports  before  he  had  an  opportunity  of  for- 
mally presenting  the  document.  These  transactions  involved  a 
virtual  declaration  of  war,  although  Congress  did  not  formally 
declare  that  war  actually  existed  until  April  25,  dating  the  time 
back  to  the  2ist. 

The  North  Atlantic  Squadron  was  immediately  ordered  to 
blockade  the  Cuban  ports,  and  on  April  22  proceeded  to  carry  out 
the  order.  On  the  same  date  the  United  States  gunboat  "  Nash- 
ville" captured  the  Spanish  merchantman  "  Buena  Ventura"  in 
the  Gulf  of  Mexico.  In  this  capture  the  first  gun  of  the  war  was 
fired.  The  next  day  President  McKinley  promulgated  a  resolution 
calling  for  125,000  volunteers.  On  the  same  day,  Morro  Castle, 
commanding  the  harbor  of  Havana,  fired  on  the  United  States 
flagship  "  New  York  "  but  without  doing  any  damage.  Subse- 


A   MAN   OF   HONOR  AND   INTEGRITY.  67 

quent  events  comprised  the  capture  of  a  number  of  Spanish 
vessels  by  Admiral  Sampson's  squadron. 

Stirring  news  from  our  Asiatic  fleet  was  soon  received.  On 
May  i,  Admiral  Dewey  practically  destroyed  the  Spanish  squad- 
ron in  the  harbor  of  Manila,  Philippine  Islands,  capturing  nine 
vessels  and  inflicting  a  loss  of  400  killed  and  600  wounded.  The 
capture  of  the  Spanish  fleet  at  Santiago,  on  July  3,  and  the  vic- 
tories of  the  American  army  in  Cuba,  resulting  in  the  surrender 
of  all  the  Spanish  troops  in  the  province  of  Santiago,  prepared 
the  way  for  Mr  McKinley  to  sign  a  peace  protocol  in  August  and 
a  treaty  of  peace  with  Spain  in  December. 

With  a  firm  hand  he  conducted  the  difficult  and  delicate 
diplomacy  and  pushed  on  the  war  that  freed  Cuba,  brought  the 
Philippine  Islands  under  the  authority  and  government  of  the 
United  States,  and  restored  peace  to  the  combatants. 

WAR  COULD  NOT  BE  AVERTED. 

As  to  his  policy  in  view  of  the  necessary  legislation  for  oui 
new  possessions,  and  his  purpose  to  govern  them  in  such  a  way  as 
to  advance  their  welfare  and  to  secure  for  them  the  largest  liberty, 
he  declared  in  an  eloquent  speech  before  the  Ohio  Society  in  New 
York  that  every  obligation  of  our  Government  would  be  fulfilled. 

tl  After  thirty-three  years,"  he  said,  "  of  unbroken  peace  came 
an  unavoidable  war.  Happily,  the  conclusion  was  quickly 
reached,  without  a  suspicion  of  unworthy  motive  or  practice  or 
purpose  on  our  part,  and  with  fadeless  honor  to  our  arms.  I  can- 
not forget  the  quick  response  of  the  people  to  the  country's  need 
and  the  quarter  of  a  million  men  who  freely  offered  their  lives  to 
their  country's  service.  It  was  an  impressive  spectacle  of  national 
strength.  It  demonstrated  our  mighty  reserve  power  and  taught 
us  that  large  standing  armies  are  unnecessary  when  every  citizen 
is  a  '  minute  man '  ready  to  join  the  ranks  for  national  defence. 

"Out  of  these  recent  events  have  come  to  the  United 
States  grave  trials  and  responsibilities.  As  it  was  the  nation's 
war,  so  are  its  results  the  nation's  problems.  Its  solution  rests 
upon  us  all.  It  is  too  serious  to  stifle.  It  is  too  earnest  for 


68  A  MAN   OF  HONOR  AND   INTEGRITY. 

repose.  No  phrase  or  catchword  can  conceal  the  sacred  obligation 
it  involves.  No  use  of  epithets,  no  aspersion  of  motive  by  those 
who  differ  will  contribute  to  that  sober  judgment  so  essential  to 
right  conclusions. 

"No  political  outcry  can  abrogate  our  treaty  of  peace  with 
Spain  or  absolve  us  from  its  solemn  engagements.  It  is  the 
people's  question  and  its  determination  is  written  out  in  their 
enlightened  verdict.  We  must  choose  between  manly  doing  and 
base  desertion.  It  will  never  be  the  latter.  It  must  be  soberly 
settled  in  justice  and  good  conscience,  and  it  will  be.  Righteous- 
ness which  exalteth  a  nation  must  control  in  its  solution. 

DECLARATION  AGAINST  IMPERIALISM. 

"There  can  be  no  imperialism.  Those  who  fear  it  are 
against  it.  Those  who  have  faith  in  the  Republic  are  against  it. 
So  that  there  is  universal  abhorrence  for  it  and  unanimous  oppo- 
sition to  it.  Our  only  difference  is  that  those  who  do  not  agree 
with  us  have  no  confidence  in  the  virtue  or  capacity  or  high  pur- 
pose or  good  faith  of  this  free  people  as  a  civilizing  agency, 
while  we  believe  that  the  century  of  free  goverment  which  the 
American  people  have  enjoyed  has  not  rendered  them  irresolute 
and  faithless,  but  has  fitted  them  for  the  great  task  of  lifting  up 
and  assisting  to  better  condition  and  larger  liberty  those  distant 
people  who  have,  through  the  issue  of  battle,  become  our  wards. 

"  Let  us  fear  not.  There  is  no  occasion  for  faint  hearts,  no 
excuse  for  regrets.  Nations  do  not  grow  in  strength  and 
the  cause  of  liberty  and  law  by  the  doing  of  easy  things. 
The  harder  the  task  the  greater  will  be  the  result,  the  benefit  and 
the  honor.  To  doubt  our  power  to  accomplish  it  is  to  lose  faith 
in  the  soundness  and  strength  of  our  popular  institutions.  The 
liberators  will  never  become  the  oppressors.  A  self-governed 
people  will  never  permit  despotism  in  any  government  which  they 
foster  and  defend. 

"  Gentlemen,  we  have  the  new  care  and  cannot  shift  it.  And, 
breaking  up  the  camp  of  ease  and  isolation,  let  us  bravely  and 
hopefully  and  soberly  continue  the  march  of  faithful  service  and 


A  MAN   OF   HONOR  AND  INTEGRITY.  59 

falter  not  until  the  work  is  done.  It  is  not  possible  that  seventy- 
five  millions  of  American  freemen  are  unable  to  establish  liberty 
and  justice  and  good  government  in  our  new  possessions.  The 
burden  is  our  opportunity.  The  opportunity  is  greater  than  the 
burden.  May  God  give  us  strength  to  bear  the  one  and  wisdom 
so  as  to  embrace  the  other  as  to  carry  to  our  distant  acquisi- 
tions the  guarantees  of  life,  liberty  and  the  pursuit  of  happiness." 
Beyond  the  administration  of  affairs  connected  with  our  war 
with  Spain  and  the  Filipino  insurgents,  and  the  appointment 
of  officials  to  govern  Hawaii,  Cuba,  Porto  Rico  and  the  Philip- 
pines, the  chief  measure  of  public  importance  during  Mr. 
McKinley's  administration  was  the  enactment,  at  his  recom- 
mendation, of  the  new  currency  law,  whereby  the  gold  standard 
has  been  established  and  our  currency  laws  are  made  to  cor- 
respond with  those  of  the  most  enlightened  nations  of  the  earth. 

DECISIVE  DEMAND  FROM  TURKEY. 

A  claim  was  made  against  Turkey  by  our  Government  for 
damages  inflicted  upon  Americans  during  the  massacres  in 
Armenia.  This  claim  amounted  to  $90,000,  and  the  Turkish 
government,  with  its  customary  dilatory  tactics,  evaded  the 
payment  of  it.  It  was  Mr.  McKinley's  determined  purpose  to 
collect  the  amount  due  for  Turkish  depredations.  Accordingly 
he  made  a  demand  for  payment.  A  month  passed  and  no  notice 
was  taken  of  the  communication  from  our  State  Department. 
On  the  23d  of  May,  1900,  Mr.  McKinley  authorized  another 
demand  to  be  made  upon  Turkey,  and  in  terms  implying  that 
the  next  communication  would  be  an  ultimatum  conveyed  by  a 
battleship.  The  whole  amount  was  afterward  collected. 

These  public  acts  indicate  the  heroic  qualities  Mr.  McKinley 
exhibited  during  his  administration.  With  a  high  purpose  to 
serve  his  country,  with  consummate  tact  and  wisdom  in  conduct- 
ing public  affairs,  with  exalted  patriotism  and  a  noble  resolve  to 
promote  the  welfare  of  the  people  in  all  parts  of  our  broad  land, 
he  discharged  the  responsible  duties  of  his  high  office  to  the 
entire  satisfaction  of  his  party. 


ANOTHER  ACCOUNT  OF  THE  GENEALOGY  OF 
THE   McKINLEY  FAMILY. 

The  following  genealogical  sketch  of  President  McKinley, 
was  prepared  by  the  Rev.  A  Stapleton,  of  Carlisle,  Pa. 

"  It  should  be  a  matter  of  regret  to  all  true  historians  that 
the  campaign  histories  of  President  McKinley  were  erroneous 
in  several  important  genealogical  details.  The  data  herein  given 
may  be  relied  on  as  correct,  as  they  are  the  result  of  researches 
in  the  court  records  and  other  authorities  still  extant. 

"The  ancestors  of  President  McKinley  belonged  to  that 
sturdy  race  of  people  called  the  Scotch-Irish,  so  called  because  in 
[607  King  James  I.  located  a  large  number  of  Scots  in  the  north- 
ern part  of  Ireland  on  lands  from  which  the  Irish  had  been 
evicted.  These  settlements  were  gradually  augmented  by  immi- 
gration until  eventually  the  Scotch-Irish  element  predominated 
in  this  region.  They  were  stanch  Presbyterians  in  faith  and  in 
course  of  time  developed  traits  and  peculiarities  so  marked  as  to 
almost  stamp  them  as  a  distinct  race. 

SUFFERED  MANY  HARDSHIPS. 

In  course  of  time  this  noble  people  were  overtaken  by  many 
hardships,  such  as  the  successive  failure  of  crops,  besides  very 
unsatisfactory  civil  and  religious  conditions.  Their  only  source 
of  relief  was  in  immigration  to  America,  in  which  they  were 
encouraged  by  agents  of  the  American  colonies.  After  1715  the 
immigration  became  very  extensive,  the  chief  port  of  arrival 
being  New  Castle,  on  the  Delaware,  below  Philadelphia. 

"  The  Scotch-Irish  being  citizens  of  the'  British  realm  their 
arrival  is  not  a  matter  of  record  like  that  of  the  Germans,  Swiss, 
Dutch,  etc.,  who  are  designated  as  foreigners  in  the  Colonial 
records,  and  were  required  to  subscribe  to  an  oath  of  allegiance 
upon  arrival,  besides  a  subsequent  naturalization.  Hence  it 
follows  that  citizens  of  the  realm  are  more  difficult  to  identify 
than  foreigners  by  the  historian.  Our  only  recourse  is  in  tax  lists, 
land  warrants,  court  records,  etc. 

"  In  the  case  of  President  McKinley  we  have  an  undisputed 
record  to  his  great-grandfather,  David  McKinley.  We  know  that 

60 


A   MAN    OF    HONOR   AND    INTEGRITY.  61 

he  was  a  Revolutionary  soldier,  that  hfe  was  born  in  York  county, 
Pa.,  that  he  removed  to  Westmoreland  county  after  the  Revolu- 
tion, and  in  1814  to  Ohio,  where  he  died.  In  the  cemetery  of  the 
Chatfield  Lutheran  Church  in  Crawford  county,  Ohio,  may  be 
seen  two  modest  granite  markers  with  the  following  inscriptions  : 
'David  McKinley,  Revolutionary  soldier.  Born,  1755  ;  died,  1840, 
and  Hannah  C.  Rose,  born  1757  ;  died  1840.' 

"  David  McKinley  was  the  father  of  James,  born  September 
19,  1783,  married  Mary  Rose,  of  Mercer  county,  Pa.,  and  removed 
thence  to  Chatfield,  where  he  purchased  a  farm,  on  which  he  died. 
He  was  the  father  of  William  McKinley,  Sr.,  born  in  1807,  an^ 
died  in  Canton,  O.,  in  1892.  The  latter  was  the  father  of  Presi- 
dent McKinley.  Hannah  C.  Rose,  buried  by  the  side  of  David 
McKinley,  was  the  great-grandmother  of  the  President.  She  was 
also  the  great-grandmother  of  former  Mayor  Rose,  of  Cleveland. 

RECORDS  AT  LANCASTER  AND  YORK. 

"  For  the  history  of  the  family  prior  to  David,  the  soldier, 
we  must  rely  on  the  courthouse  records  at  Lancaster,  and  York, 
Pa.  From  various  documents  and  entries  we  think  the  evidence 
incontrovertible  that  David  McKinley,  the  head  of  the  clan 
McKinley  in  America,  landed  at  New  Castle,  and  located  in  (now) 
Chanceford  township,  York  county,  Pa.,  in  1743.  At  that  time 
he  was  well  along  in  life.  He  was  accompanied  by  his  wife, 
Esther,  and  three  sons,  John,  David,  Stephen,  and  a  daughter, 
Mary.  There  are  frequent  references  to  these  sons  in  the  county 
archives. 

"  The  immigrant  was  a  weaver  by  trade,  but,  like  all  thrifty 
artisans  of  that  day,  he  secured  a  good  homestead.  It  is  possible, 
but  not  probable,  that  he  arrived  in  the  province  earlier  than 
1743,  but  in  this  year  his  name  first  appears  on  the  records  in  a 
warrant  for  316  acres  of  land  on  a  beautiful  elevation  overlooking 
the  Susquehanna  river  in  the  distance. 

"  That  he  was  a  man  of  enterprise  is  shown  in  the  fact  that 
in  1749  he  circulated  a  petition  for  a  public  highway,  which  he 
also  presented  to  court.  Tne  following  year  lie  was  made  super- 


62  A   MAN   OF   HONOR   AND  INTEGRITY. 

visor,  and  doubtless  had  the  task  imposed  on  himself  to  engineer 
his  road  to  completion.  His  name  occurs  frequently  in  the  most 
honorable  way,  showing  him  to.  have  been  a  man  of  unusual 
probity  and  worth  as  a  citizen. 

"David  McKinley,  the  immigrant,  died  intestate  in  1757, 
leaving  his  wife  and  children  as  already  named.  His  daughter 
was  intermarried  with  Samuel  Gordon.  The  settlement  of  the 
estate  shows  personal  property  to  the  value  of  of  £220,  or  $1,100, 
besides  the  plantation,  which  was  divided.  Later,  however,  the 
son  John  (who,  with  his  mother,  was  the  executor)  purchased  the 
entire  estate. 

SECOND  GENERATION  COMES  INTO  VIEW. 

"  This  leads  us  to  the  consideration  of  the  second  generation, 
viz.,  John  McKinley,  eldest  son  of  the  immigrant.  Before  enter- 
ing upon  details  we  here  throw  out  the  precautionary  statement 
that  the  names  McKinley  and  McGinley  are  both  contemporane- 
ous and  interchangeable  in  our  early  records,  owing  to  the  care- 
lessness of  scribes.  They  were,  however,  separate  families  in 
York  county.  The  McGinleys  proper  came  from  James  McGiii- 
ley,  who  died  in  York  county  in  1755,  leaving  an  only  son,  John. 
No  relationship  is  known  to  have  existed  between  the  families, 
although  remotely  it  might  have  been  the  case.  The  President's 
ancestors,  so  far  as  we  have  ascertained,  always  wrote  their  name 
as  now. 

"  Resuming  our  narrative  of  the  McKinleys,  John,  son  of  the 
immigrant,  was  born  about  1728,  and  in  his  day  was  one  of  the 
foremost  men  of  York  county.  He  became  a  large  land  owner  and 
frequently  figures  in  important  business  transactions.  When 
hostilities  broke  out  with  the  mother  country  he  stanchly  sup- 
ported the  Revolution  and  was  made  wagon  master  for  Chanceford 
township  by  the  Committee  of  Safety.  He  died  on  his  estates 
February  18,  1779,  being  survived  by  his  widow,  Margaret,  an 
only  son,  David,  great-grandfather  of  the  President,  and  daughters 
Esther,  Jean,  Elizabeth  and  Susan.  The  widow  subsequently 
married  Thomas  McCulloch.  She  died  in  the  winter  of  1781. 


A   MAN  OF   HONOR  AND   INTEGRITY,  63 

"This  leads  us  down  to  David  McKinley,  grandson  of  the 
immigrant  and  great-grandfather  of  the  President.  He  was  born 
on  the  old  homestead  in  Chanceford  township,  May  16,  1755.  In 
1776  he  enlisted  in  Captain  Reed's  Company  of  Ferrymen  in  the 
war  of  the  Revolution.  This  was  the  the  Seventh  Company  of 
the  Eighth  Battalion  of  York  county  militia.  The  militiamen,  it 
should  be  remembered,  were  called  out  in  emergencies  and  were 
drafted  in  sections  for  active  service  making  what  were  then 
called  tours  of  service.  In  this  way  nearly  all  the  militia  of  Penn- 
sylvania saw  many  tours  of  service,  much  hard  fighting  and  the 
most  perilous  kind  of  military  life. 

"The  local  historians  of  York  County  had  been  in  corre- 
spondence with  the  President  respecting  his  York  County  antece- 
dents. He  had  expressed  himself  as  much  gratified  by  their 
researches  and  interest  in  his  ancestry,  and  faithfully  promised, 
at  an  opportune  time,  to  visit  the  scenes  of  his  ancestral  abode. 
Several  dates  for  the  proposed  visit  were  partly  agreed  upon,  and 
great  preparations  for  the  visit  were  in  prospect  when  the 
critical  events  preceding  the  outbreak  of  the  Spanish  War  com- 
pelled successive  postponements  of  the  visit. 

u  As  a  matter  of  interest  we  may  add  that  a  muster  roll  of  the 
company  of  which  his  great-grandfather  was  a  member,  and  ever 
since  the  Revolution  in  the  possession  of  the  descendants  of 
Colonel  John  Hay,  was  some  years  ago  presented  to  the  President 
and  received  by  him  with  many  expressions  of  delight  and 
satisfaction." 


CHAPTER  III. 

Career  of  President  McKinley— Raised  to  Rank  of  Captain 
and  Brevet- Major  in  the  Army — Romance  of  Early  Life 
— Conspicuous  Acts  of  Legislation  During  His  Adminis- 
tration as  President. 

A  SSOCI ATED  with  the  glorious  names  and  memories  of  Wash- 
**  ington,  Jefferson,  Madison,  Monroe,  Jackson,  Lincoln  and 
Grant  as  a  man  twice  chosen  in  succession  by  the  people  to  be  the 
Chief  Magistrate  of  the  nation,  at  one  of  the  great  epochs  in  its 
history,  the  American  who  died  at  Buffialo  September  14,  had  not 
yet  completed  the  even  threescore  years  of  life,  though  in  the  fifty- 
eight  years  allotedto  him  in  private  life  and  in  public  place,  he  had 
run  the  whole  gamut  of  human  experience,  nobly  acquitting  himself 
in  each  stage  in  a  way  that  gave  visible  embodiment  to  American 
ideals  and  splendid  traditions  of  things  accomplished  in  all  that 
he  set  his  hands  to  do. 

As  a  studious  boy  and  gall  \nt  soldier ;  then  in  private  life  an 
able  lawyer  skilled  in  his  profession  ;  a  public  man  whose  re-elec- 
tion seven  times  in  succession  to  Congress  represented  the  confi- 
dence and  unerring  belief  of  his  own  neighbors  ;  as  Governor 
and  then  as  President,  the  broad  patriotic  statesman  whose  policies 
commanded  regard  at  home  and  respect  abroad,  the  boy  born  at 
Niles,  O.,  on  January  29,  1843,  represented  in  his  struggles  and 
successes  the  typical  American  in  a  Republic  which  is  opportunity 
ior  the  humblest. 

No  President  came  of  better  stock,  and  it  was  to  the  sturdi- 
ness  of  frame  and  mind,  and  not  to  the  mere  accidents  of  birth  or 
position,  that  made  William  McKinley  a  marked  figure,  whether 
as  a  boy  of  eighteen,  serving  the  Union  on  the  field  of  battle  or  as 
a  President  at  fifty-three,  planning  policies  that  made  it  a  nation 
high  iu  the  world's  councils.  The  ancestors  of  the  latest 
President  of  the  United  States  were  Covenanters  in  Scotland 
Jacobites  in  Ireland,  Revolutionary  heroes  in  America — men  who 

64 


JOHN     D.    LONG 

SECRETARY  OF  THE  NAVY 


GEORGE    B.    CORTELYOU 

SECRETARY  TO  PRESIDENT  McKINLEY 


ELIHU     ROOT-SECRETARY    OF    WAR 


CHARLES     EMORY    SMITH 

POSTMASTER   GENERAL 


DR.     P.     M.     RIXEY 

PRIVATE   PHYSICIAN   TO   PRESIDENT   McKINLEY   AND   FAMILY 


DR.     ROSWELL     P.     PARK 
SURGEON   IN  ATTENDANCE  UPON    PRESIDENT   McKINLEY 


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SECRET    SERVICE    MEN    FOSTER    AND    IRELAND    WHO    CAPTURED 

McKIN LEY'S    ASSASSIN 


LYMAN    J.    GAGE-SECRETARY    OF    THE    TREASURY 


CAREER  OF  PRESIDENT   McKINLEY.  65 

fought  and  prayed  and  loved  freedom ;  men  on  whose  grave,  stead- 
fast natures  the  world's  opposition  wrought  about  the  same  im- 
pression as  does  the  wave  on  the  rock.  On  his  mother's  side, 
Mr.  McKinley  was  descended  from  a  race  which  has  contributed 
moral  and  mental  fiber  to  the  American  race  equally  with  the 
Scotch-Irish — the  Teutonic. 

The  first  McKinley  in  the  new  world  settled  near  York,  Pa., 
and  David  McKinley,  the  President's  great-grandfather,  was  one 
of  those  who  sprang  to  arms  at  the  summons  of  '76.  .  He  was 
among  the  first  "  expansionists  "of  this  country — moving  his 
family,  like  so  many  other  Revolutionary  veterans  after  peace 
with  England  had  been  declared,  to  the  then  "continuous  wilds" 
of  Ohio,  and  there  helping  to  found  a  State. 

STRUGGLE  TO  GAIN  AN  EDUCATION. 

The  patriot's  grandson,  William  McKinley,  Sr.,  was  one  of 
the  pioneers  in  the  iron  industry  at  Niles,  O.,  which  he  estab- 
lished at  Fairfield,  O.,  in  1827,  when  he  was  twenty  years  old,  and 
the  husband  of  Nancy  Campbell  Allison,  then  a  young  woman  of 
eighteen.  When  the  elder  McKinleys  moved  to  Niles  it  cannot 
be  said  that  the  ironmaster's  home  represented  anything  more 
than  the  frugal,  thrifty  households  of  the  neighboring  farmers. 
The  iron  industry  in  the  '305  in  rural  Ohio  had  none  of  the 
return  for  labor  or  capital  that  are  common  to-day. 

So  the  early  years  of  the  twentieth  President  of  the  United 
States,  if  not  spent  exactly  in  poverty,  at  least  represented  that  strug- 
gle to  gain  an  education  and  position  and  home  comforts  that  made 
the  American  character  and  the  American  spirit  one  of  ceaseless 
endeavor  and  unresting  ambitions.  The  seventh  son  in  a  family 
of  nine  as  a  small  child  had,  therefore,  none  of  the  surroundings 
that  are  supposed  to  weaken  one  for  the  conflicts  of  life.  On  the 
contrary,  from  the  very  first  there  was  everything  to  inure  one  to 
hardship  and  to  suggest  with  peculiar  force  the  American  idea 
that  every  one  had  his  future  in  his  own  hands,  in  his  own  efforts. 

As  was  natural  in  the  Western  Reserve,  the  elder  McKinleys 
had  the  pioneers'  passion  for  education,  and  by  the  time  William 


66  CAREER  OF   PRESIDENT   McKINLEY. 

had  gone  for  a  few  years  to  the  public  school  at  Niles  his  parents 
decided  to  remove  to  Poland,  in  Mahoning  County,  where  the 
educational  opportunities  were  better.  In  leaving  Niles  the 
McKinleys  departed  a  locality  famous  as  the  birthplace  of  celeb- 
rities. Less  than  one  hundred  miles  away,  at  Lancaster,  the 
two  Shermans,  soldier  and  Senator,  were  born  and  raised ;  thirty 
miles  away,  at  Cuyahoga,  President  Garfield,  the  second  martyr, 
first  saw  the  light ;  in  Delaware,  not  far  distant,  was  born  another 
President,  Rutherford  B.  Hayes. 

Poland  was  a  New  England  town  in  every  sense  but  a  geo- 
graphical one.  The  New  England  spirit  of  discussion,  of  ambi- 
tion, of  religious  fervor  and  intense  political  feeling,  actuated  the 
democratic  little  colony,  whose  richest  man  could  not  draw  his 
check  for  $10,000.  No  doubt,  this  plunge  into  an  atmosphere 
of  pugnacious  denominationalism,  bitter  pro-  and  anti-slavery 
debate,  temperance  agitation  and  discussion  of  the  new  startling 
doctrine  of  woman's  rights — inculcated  by  Lucretia  Mott  through 
the  strong  Quaker  element  in  the  town — was  a  strong  factor  in 
young  McKinley's  development.  He  joined  in  everything  but 
play,  for  which  he  evinced  indifference  wlien  a  book  was  to  be  had. 
He  joined,  at  the  age  of  sixteen,  the  Methodist  Church,  of  which 
he  always  remained  a  staunch  member. 

OWED  MUCH  TO  HIS  MOTHER. 

Though  he  did  not  follow  her  specific  leanings  in  the  matter 
of  sect,  it  was  from  his  mother  that  he  absorbed  his  religious 
inspirations,  and  he  was  nearer  to  her  in  traits  and  character  than 
to  his  father.  He  resembled  her  strongly  in  face,  in  manner  and 
in  many  mental  peculiarities.  She  was  an  Allison,  of  Scotch 
Covenanter  stock.  There  were  Allisons  among  the  victims  of 
Claverhouse's  dragoons,  and  there  were  other  Allisons  who,  after 
long  imprisonment  for  conscience  sake,  left  their  homes  in  the 
Lowlands  and  sought  religious  freedom  in  the  American  colonies. 

Nancy  Allison  had  the  characteristics  of  her  race,  and  her 
life  in  Ohio  developed  her  natural  gifts  of  management,  thrift 
and  earnestness.  She  was  profoundly  religious,  and  at  the  same 


CAREER  OF  PRESIDENT   McKINLEY.  67 

time  intensely  practical.  She  imparted  the  stamp  of  her  vigorous 
character  to  all  her  offspring.  There  was  no  black  sheep  in  her 
flock.  The  children  grew  up  to  be  serious,  competent,  indepen- 
dent men  and  women,  and  the  President  was  but  typical  of  the 

stock. 

EARNEST  AND  SUCCESSFUL  STUDENT. 

His  early  education  was  received  at  the  Poland  Academy, 
where  the  children  of  the  well-to-do,  although  this  meant  very 
little  in  those  days,  were  sent.  It  was  meagre  enough,  and  to 
keep  him  there  was  not  accomplished  without  sacrifice  on  his 
part  as  well  as  the  family's.  However,  by  studying  and  teaching 
others  as  well  as  himself,  and  having  the  bar  in  view,  he  was 
able,  in  1860,  to  enter  the  junior  class  at  Allegheny  College,  at 
Meadville,  Pa.,  at  seventeen,  having  earned  his  matriculation 
fees  by  teaching  in  neighboring  village  schools.  Here  he 
plunged  into  study  with  such  stern  earnestness  that  his  health 
broke  down  before  he  had  completed  his  first  year's  course. 
Returning,  he  found  the  family  in  financial  straits,  owing  to 
his  father's  failure  in  business.  So  far  from  finishing  his  educa- 
tion, it  became  his  duty  to  help  provide  for  the  family,  and 
he  manfully  undertook  it,  accepting  a  position  as  teacher  at  $25 
a  month,  and  later  became  a  clerk  in  the  Poland  post  office,  his 
first  slight  touch  with  the  Federal  Government  to  whose  defense 
he  was  to  fly  next  year  and  in  whose  broader  service  he  was  to 
lead  a  nation  of  76,000,000  a  generation  later. 

In  his  study  years  McKinley  was  very  fond  of  mathematics, 
but  for  Latin  he  cared  little,  although  he  always  passed  his 
examinations  creditably.  In  the  colleges  and  academies  at  that 
time  mathematics,  grammar  and  the  dead  languages  constituted 
pretty  much  the  whole  stock  of  instruction.  He  showed  no  fond- 
ness for  the  debates  of  the  literary  societies  or  the  orations  of  the 
regular  Saturday  school  exercises,  but  he  was  known  as  a  good 
essay  writer  and  was  a  forceful  reasoner  rather  than  a  mere 
rhetorician.  But  he  was  not  destined  to  remain  the  village  school- 
master long,  for  the  "irrepressible  conflict"  soon  became  a  fact 
and  on  June  n,  1861,  William  McKinley  became  a  private  in 


fiS  CAREER  OF  PRESIDENT  McKINLEY. 

Company  E,  of  the  Twenty-third  Ohio  Volunteer  Infantry.  The 
Twenty-third  Ohio  was  mustered  into  service  by  General  Fremont 
in  June,  1861.  William  S.  Rosecrans  was  its  first  colonel  and  the 
future  President  Hayes  its  first  major,  and  Stanley  Matthews, 
afterward  United  States  Senator  and  Justice  of  the  Supreme  Court, 
its  first  lieutenant-colonel. 

With  the  Twenty-third  Ohio  young  McKinley  saw  some  of 
the  hardest  fighting  of  the  Civil  War,  and  gained  a  distinguished 
record  with  which  every  one  is  familiar.  Under  McClellan  he 
served  in  the  Kanawha  campaign,  to  which  West  Virginia  owes 
its  existence  as  a  separate  State.  His  first  commission,  that  of 
lieutenant,  came  to  him  after  the  battle  of  Antietam,  during 
which,  in  his  character  of  commissary,  he  imposed  on  himself  the 
task,  which  to  a  more  self-seeking  nature  would  have  been  dis- 
tasteful, of  cooking  rations  for  the  more  fortunate  comrades  who 
were  fighting  at  the  front,  but  it  is  a  matter  of  record  that  young 
McKinley  did  not  stay  in  the  rear,  but  served  his  fellows  with 
coffee  and  rations  on  the  firing  line  itself. 

ON   STAFF  OF  GENERAL  HAYES. 

This  seemed  to  him  so  simple  and  natural  a  thing  to  do,  it 
was  but  his  duty,  that  he  was  much  surprised  to  receive  a  com- 
mission a  few  days  later,  on  a  recommendation  signed  by  General 
Hayes,  who  spoke  in  the  highest  esteem  of  him  and  made  him  a 
member  of  his  staff,  a  first  lieutenancy  coming  a  few  months 
later,  on  February  7,  1863,  while  his  captaincy  was  won  on  July 
25,  1864,  for  gallantry  at  the  battle  of  Kernstown,  near  Win- 
chester, Va. 

His  career  kept  on  being  onward  and  upward.  He  served  on 
the  staffs  of  General  George  Cook  and  General  Winsfield  S.  Han- 
cock, voted  for  Lincoln  in  the  field,  and,  in  1865,  was  assigned  as 
Acting  Assistant  Adjutant  General  on  the  staff  of  General  Samuel 
S.  Carroll,  commanding  the  veteran  reserve  corps  at  Washington, 
and  it  was  while  he  was  in  Washington  that  he  was  commissioned 
by  President  Lincoln  as  Major  by  brevet  in  the  Volunteer  United 
States  Army  "for  gallant  and  meritorious  services  at  the  battles 


CAREER  OF   PRESIDENT   McKINLEY.  Ca 

i 

of  Opequan,  Cedar  Creek  and  Fisher'  s  Hill."  At  Cedar  Creek, 
General  Sheridan,  on  his  way  to  Winchester  had  noticed  him,  a 
boy  of  21  rallying  the  demoralized  troops  with  the  intrepidity 
of  a  seasoned  soldier  and  the  authority  of  a  man.  He  remained  with 
the  regiment  nntil  it  was  mustered  out,  and  some  idea  of  his  grit 
and  constitution  is  given  when  it  is  known  that  during  all  his 
four  years'  service  he  had  never  been  absent  once  from  his  com- 
mand on  sick  leave. 

Some  idea  of  the  impression  the  future  President  made  on 
his  associates  during  his  military  career  is  given  in  the  words  of 
President  Hayes,  who,  on  one  occasion,  in  talking  of  McKinley's 
splendid  characteristics,  said  : 

TRIBUTE  FROM  PRESIDENT  HAYES. 

"When  I  first  made  his  acquaintance  he  was  a  boy  just  past 
the  age  of  eighteen.  He,  with  me,  entered  ori  a  new,  strange 
life,  a  soldier's  life  in  the  time  of  actual  war.  It  was  soon  found 
that  he  had  unusual  character  for  the  business  of  war.  Young  as 
he  was,  we  soon  found  him,  in  executive  ability,  a  man  of  unusual 
and  unsurpassed  capacity.  When  battles  were  fought  or  service 
was  to  be  performed  in  warlik^  ^h.ngf:  he  always  took  his  place. 
The  night  was  never  too  dark,  the  weather,  never  too  cold  for 
prompt  and  efficient  performance  of  his  duty.  When  I  became 
commander  of  the  regiment  he  soon  came  to  me  on  my  staff,  and  I 
learned  to  know  him  like  a  book  and  love  him  like  a  brother.  He 
naturally  progressed,  for  his  talent  and  capacity  could  not  be 
unknown. 

"  The  bloodiest  day  of  the  war,  the  day  on  which  more  men 
were  killed  and  wounded  than  on  any  other  day  of  the  war,  was 
the  seventeenth  of  September,  1862,  in  the  battle  of  Antietam. 
That  battle  began  at  daylight.  Without  breakfast,  without  coffee, 
the  men  went  into  the  fight  and  continued  until  after  the  sun  went 
down.  Early  in  the  afternoon  they  were  famished  and  thirsty. 
The  commissary  department  of  the  brigade  was  under  Sergeant 
McKinley's  administration  and  a  better  choice  could  not  have  been 
made,  for  when  the  issue  came  he  performed  a  notable  deed  of 


70  CAREER   OF   PRESIDENT   McKINLEY. 

daring  at  the  crisis  of  the  battle,  when  it  was  uncertain  which  way 
victory  would  turn.  For  fitting  up  two  wagons  with  necessary 
supplies  he  drove  them  through  a  storm  of  shells  and  bullets  to 
the  assistance  of  his  hungry  and  thirsty  fellow  soldiers. 

"  The  mules  of  one  wagon  were  disabled,  but  McKinley 
drove  the  other  safely  through  and  was  received  with  hearty 
cheers,  and  from,  his  hands  every  man  in  the  regiment  was  served 
with  hot  coffee  and  warm  meats,  a  thing  that  had  never  occurred 
under  similar  circumstances  in  any  other  army  in  the  world. 
He  passed  under  the  fire  and  delivered  with  his  own  hands  those 
things  so  essential  for  the  men  for  whom  he  was  laboring." 

PROMPT  TO  ACT  IN  EMERGENCIES. 

When,  in  later  years,  Major  McKinley' s  qualities  -as  a 
manager  of  important  undertakings  were  called  into  question 
by  somebody,  the  reply  was  made  by  one  familiar  with  his 
record  :  "  A  man,  who,  before  he  had  attained  the  age  of  twenty- 
one,  kept  up  the  supplies  of  the  army  for  General  Crook  in  active 
service  in  the  field  is  not  lacking  in  business  ability."  That 
his  action  in  an  emergency  and  under  great  stress  of  circum- 
stances is  prompt  and  wise  is  shown  by  an  incident  occurring 
during  Sheridan's  great  battle  at  Opequan,  when  Captain  Mc- 
Kinley, an  aid-de-camp  on  the  staff  of  General  Sheridan,  brought 
a  verbal  order  to  General  Duval,  commanding  the  second  division, 
to  move  his  command  quickly  to  a  position  on  the  right  of  the 
Sixth  Corps,  the  First  Division  having  previously  been  ordered 
to  that  position. 

General  Duval,  on  receiving  the  order,  asked:  "By  what 
route  shall  I  move  my  command  ?  " 

Captain  McKinley,  knowing  no  more  about  the  country  than 
did  General  Duval,  and  without  definite  orders,  replied  :  "I  would 
move  up  this  creek." 

General  Duval  replied :  "I  will  not  budge  without  definite 
orders." 

In  reply  Captain  McKinley  said :  "  This  is  a  time  of  great 
emergency,  general.  I  order  you,  by  command  of  General 


CAREER   OF   PRESIDENT   McKINLEY.  71 

Crook,  to  move  your  command  up  this  ravine  to  a  position  on 
the  right  of  the  army." 

General  Duval  obeyed  and  moved  on  the  route  indicated  by 
the  young  aid-de-camp,  attained  the  position,  charged  the  enemy 
and  drove  them  in  confusion  from  their  works,  as  the  result  of  the 
responsibility  taken  by  Captain  McKinley  in  this  critical  moment. 

Of  his  personal  courage  in  battle,  a  historian  writing  of  the 
tattle  of  Kernstown,  near  Winchester,  of  July  24,  1864,  says : 
"  When  it  became  necessary  to  fall  back,  it  was  discovered  that 
one  of  the  regiments  was  still  at  the  point  where  it  was  posted  at 
the  beginning  of  the  battle.  General  Hayes,  turning  to  Lieutenant 
McKinley,  directed  him  to  go  and  bring  away  this  regiment  if  it 
had  noc  already  fallen  back.  McKinley  turned  his  horse,  and, 
keenly  spurring  it,  pushed  at  a  forced  gallop  obliquely  toward  the 
advancing  enemy.  A  sad  look  came  over  General  Hayes's  face,  as 
he  saw  this  gallant  youth  push  rapidly  forward  to  almost  cer- 
tain death.  None  of  us  expected  to  see  him  again  as  we  watched 
him  push  his  horse  through  the  open  fields,  over  fences,  over 
ditches,  while  a  well-directed  fire  from  the  enemy  was  pouring 
upon  him,  with  shells  exploding  around,  about  and  over  him. 

MASTERLY  COURAGE  IN  DANGER. 

"Once  he  was  completely  enveloped  in  the  smoke  of  an 
exploding  shell,  and  we  thought  he  had  gone  down,  but  out  or 
this  smoke  emerged  a  wiry  little  brown  horse  with  McKinley  still 
firmly  seated,  as  erect  as  a  hussar.  He  reached  the  regiment  and 
gave  the  order  to  fall  back.  The  colonel  in  reply  said  :  '  I  am 
ready  to  go  wherever  you  shall  lead,  but,  lieutenant,  I  believe  I 
ought  to  give  these  fellows  a  volley  or  two  before  I  go.'  McKin- 
ley's  reply  was  :  '  Then  up  and  at  them  as  quickly  as  possible,' 
and  on  orders  the  regiment  arose,  gave  the  enemy  a  crushing  vol- 
ley, followed  with  a  rattling  fire,  and  then  slowly  retreated  under 
McKinley's  lead  toward  Winchester. 

"  As  McKinley  drew  up  by  the  side  of  Hayes  after  bringing 
the  regiment  to  the  brigade,  General  Hayes  said  :  4  McKinley,  I 
never  expected  to  see  you  in  life  again.' ' 


72  CAREER  OF   PRESIDENT   McKINLEY. 

According  to  the  official  roster  of  the  Twenty-third  Ohio  the 
full  list  of  the  engagements  in  which  McKinley  took  part  run  as 
follows  :  Carnifex  Ferry,  September  10,  1861  ;  Clark's  Hollow, 
May  i,  1862  ;  Princeton,  W.  Va.,  May  15,  1862  ;  South  Mountain, 
Md.,  September  14,  1862  ;  Antietam,  September  17,  1862  ;  Cloyd's 
Mountain,  Va.,  May  9,  1864  ;  New  River  Bridge,  Va.,  May  10, 
1864 ;  Buffalo  Gap,  W.  Va.,  June  6,  1864  ;  Lexington,  W.  Va., 
June,  10,  1864  ;  Buchanan,  W.  Va.,  June  14,  1864  ;  Otter  Creek, 
Va.,  June  16,  1864  ;  Buford's  Gap,  Va.,  July  21,  1864  ;  Winchester, 
Va.,  July  24,  1864  ;  Berryville,  Va.,  September  3,  1864  ;  Opequan, 
Va.,  September  19,  1864;  Fisher's  Hill,  Va.,  September  22,  1864  ; 
Cedar  Creek,  Va.,  October  10,  1864. 

DESTINED  TO  ENTER  PUBLIC  LIFE. 

After  being  mustered  out  and  resisting  an  inclination  to  join 
the  regular  army,  young  McKinley  studied  law  in  the  office  of 
Charles  E.  (afterward  Judge)  Glidden,  and  attended  lectures  at  the 
Albany  Law  School.  In  1867  he  was  admitted  to  the  Bar.  At  that 
moment  in  American  history,  above  all  others,  to  be  a  lawyer  was 
inevitably  to  enter  public  life.  Those  about  him  instinctively  saw 
that  among  men  who  could  dream  here  was  a  man  who  could  exe- 
cute. Poland,  a  mere  village  of  some  few  hundred  people,  was 
plainly  not  the  place  for  the  u rising"  young  lawyer,  and  acting 
on  his  own  convictions  and  the  advice  of  his  elder  sister,  Annie,  a 
teacher  who  had  helped  him  before  when  money  affairs  became 
tightened,  in  1867  he  moved  to  Canton,  then  a  flourishing  towny 
his  father  and  mother  following  him. 

The  wisdom  of  the  choice  now  became  apparent.  Canton  was 
a  lively  town,  the  center  of  a  region  that  was  making  rapid  ad- 
vances through  its  manufacturing  interests,  and,  moreover,  it  gave 
his  energies  the  needed  political  outlet,  for  almost  immediately 
after  his  admission  as  a  lawyer  and  his  removal  to  the  larger  field 
of  Canton  for  practice  came  the  Ohio  gubernatorial  campaign  of 
1867,  whose  most  bitterly  contested  feature  was  a  constitutional 
amendment  conceding  negro  suffrage.  In  defense  of  the  rights  of 
the  colored  man  McKinley  made  his  first  political  speech,  and  the 


CAREER  OF  PRESIDENT  McKINLEY.  73 

Republicans  carried  the  election  although   the  amendment  itself 
was  lost. 

By  this  time  he  had  begun  to  feel  at  home  in  his  profession, 
and  his  success  before  his  neighbors  was  such  that  in  1869, 
although  Stark  County  was  usually  Democratic,  he  was  elected 
to  his  first  public  office  as  prosecuting  attorney,  and  from  that 
time  on  until  he  was  elected  President,  in  1896,  Major  McKinley 
never  lost  his  hold  on  public  life  or  the  affections  of  the  people, 
first  of  his  county,  then  of  his  district,  then  of  his  State  and  then 
of  the  country.  The  methods  followed  in  1869  in  his  campaign 
were  those  of  his  after  life.  He  was  assiduous  in  his  campaign- 
ing and  persuasive,  not  antagonistic,  in  his  arguments. 

A  REMARKABLE  SPEECH. 

Men  who  heard  his  first  speech  say  that  it  was  strong  and 
logical,  and  insist  that  they  then  foresaw  a  great  career  in  public 
life  for  the  young  lawyer.  However  that  may  have  been,  it  is 
certain  that  McKinley  was  at  once  welcomed  by  the  Republican 
county  leaders  as  a  valuable  recruit,  and  was  given  numerous 
appointments  in  that  campaign,  and  in  the  Presidential  campaign 
of  1868,  to  speak  at  town  halls  and  schoolhouses  throughout  the 
county,  and  so,  when  his  own  campaign  of  1869  came  along,  he 
was  not  without  political  experience. 

It  was  while  he  was  prosecuting  attorney  that  the  romance 
of  family  life,  which  had  hitherto  been  left  by  him  chiefly  as  a 
loved  and  loving  son,  took  a  new  turn,  and  the  courtship  and 
marriage  of  Miss  Ida  Saxton  made  him  the  devoted  husband 
whose  later  sacrifices  for  a  beloved  wife  consecrated  the  marriage 
tie.  and  the  devotion  of  a  lifetime  before  his  people  as  has  been 
the  case  with  few  men  in  public  life.  It  is  said  fehe  courtship  of 
the  attorney  of  twenty-eight  was  very  characteristic.  He  was  a 
Methodist  Sunday-school  teacher,  and  Miss  Saxton  conducted  a 
Bible  class  in  a  Presbyterian  Church.  At  a  certain  street  corner 
each  Sunday  they  met,  and  used  to  chat  about  their  work.  For 
months  this  continued ;  then  one  afternoon  he  said  to  her:  "This 
separation  each  Sunday  I  don't  like  at  all — you  going  one  way 


74  CAREER   OF   PRESIDENT   McKINLEY. 

and  I  another.  Suppose  after  this  we  always  go  the  same  way, 
what  do  you  think  ?  " 

"  I  think  so,  too,"  was  the  quick  reply. 

Mrs.  McKinley,  or  rather  Miss  Saxton,  had  been,  quite  the 
belle  of  Canton.  She  was  a  granddaughter  of  the  veteran  Ohio 
journalist,  John  Saxton,  and  a  daughter  of  James  A.  Saxton,  a 
banker,  capitalist  and  man  of  affairs.  Miss  Saxton  had,  therefore, 
unusual  opportunities  for  Canton.  She  was  well  educated  and 
after  her  graduation  from  Brook  Hall  Seminary,  at  Media,  Pa., 
the  father  sent  her  to  Europe  with  her  sister  to  give  her  a  broader 
view  of  the  world  and  fit  her  for  the  earnest  duties  of  life.  The 
older  sister  had  married  and  gone  to  Cleveland  to  live  and  the 
father  hoped  that  Ida  would  form  no  early  love  attachment  and 
would  remain  in  his  home  to  brighten  his  life. 

GIRLS  SHOULD  BE  TAUGHT  INDEPENDENCE. 

It  is  said  that  he  systematically  discouraged  the  addresses  of 
all  young  men  and  that  for  the  purpose  of  giving  his  daughter  a 
serious  bent  he  persuaded  her  on  her  return  from  the  foreign  tour 
to  go  into  his  bank  as  his  assistant.  There  Ida  was  installed  as 
cashier.  He  had  won  a  comfortable  fortune,  but  his  theory  about 
girls  was  that  they  should  be  taught  a  business  that  would  make 
them  independent  of  marriage  and  enable  them  to  be  self-support- 
ing in  case  the  parents  should  leave  Ithem  without  sufficient 
property  for  their  support. 

But  the  stalwart  young  lawyer  had  his  way,  the  father  con- 
sented and  the  marriage,  which  took  place  on  January  25,  1871,  was 
a  happy  one,  but  the  early  loss  of  the  two  children  that  came  to 
bless  it,  one  in  1871  and  the  other  in  1873,  followed  by  the  life- 
long invalidism  of  his  wife,  was  one  of  the  early  crosses  that  only 
seemed  to  give  greater  firmness  to  the  character,  greater  kindness 
to  the  heart.  For  fi>e  years  he  took  up  the  duties  of  private  life 
and  became  one  of  the  best  campaigners  of  the  State,  he  himself 
holding  no  office,  but  it  was  then  that  in  discussing  public  ques- 
tions he  began  to  concentrate  his  attention  on  what  he  believed  to 
be  the  most  important  of  national  problems,  the  tariff. 


CAREER   OF   PRESIDENT   McKINLEY.  75 

Born  and  bred  in  a  manufacturing  town,  he  had  felt  the  pulse 
of  industrial  prosperity,  noted  how  it  nagged  or  quickened  accord- 
ing as  the  depressing  influence  of  cheap  foreign  competition  was 
applied  or  removed.  The  inexorable  logic  of  idle  workmen,  fire- 
less  hearths  and  hungry  children,  forced  him.  to  take  a  position 
from  which  he  never  deviated,  and  it  came  to  be  understood  that 
"  Protection  for  American  industries  and  McKinley  "  were  synony- 
mous terms. 

In  1876  he  stepped  from  the  local  platform  on  the  wider 
rostrum  of  Congressional  life.  Ke  had  long  familiarized  himself 
with  the  conditions  in  the  Eighteenth  Ohio  District  and  his  first 
campaign  in  the  year  when  his  neighbor  and  friend,  General 
Hayes,  became  President,  was  one  that  presented  few  difficulties 
for  himself.  He  won  by  a  handsome  majority,  and  despite  all  the 
changes  of  form  in  his  district,  it  having  been  gerrymandered  a 
number  of  times,  he  was  re-elected  seven  consecutive  times, 
though  it  is  true  his  majority  in  one  case,  the  campaign  of  1882, 
was  only  8.  It  was  after  this  that  all  his  nominations  were  by 

acclamation. 

FIRST  SPEECH  IN  THE  HOUSE. 

His  first  speech  before  Congress  was  in  opposition  to  Fernando 
Wood's  non-protective  bill,  introduced  into  the  House  in  1878. 
Naturally,  active  and  strong  opposition  was  aroused  by  so  able 
and  uncompromising  a  foe  to  free  trade  and  the  remedy  of 
gerrymandering  was  resorted  to.  In  1878  there  was  a  re-arrange- 
ment of  his  Congressional  district,  which  placed  Stark  County 
in  safely  opposition  company.  General  Aquila  Wiley,  a  popular 
man,  with  a  brilliant  war  record,  was  nominated  against  him. 
That  McKinley 's  force  dominated  something  more  than  districts 
was  shown  by  the  fact  that,  despite  the  gerrymandering,  he  was 
returned  with  15,489  votes  against  14,255  for  Wiley.  On  his 
return  to  Congress  he  became  more  and  more  a  foe  to  the  fiscal 
policy  of  his  opponents  and  his  high  value  to  his  party  was 
recognized  when  he  succeeded  Garfield  as  a  member  of  the  Ways 
and  Means  Committee  in  1881,  thus  becoming  one  of  "  Pig-Iron" 
Kelley's  chief  lieutenants. 


76  CAREER  OF  PRESIDENT  McKINLEY. 

Again  and  again  efforts  to  defeat  him  failed,  and  his  attacks 
in  the  House  on  the  "Morrison  Tariff"  in  1884  gave  him  a 
national  reputation,  and  his  leadership  in  the  tariff  debate  was 
continued  by  his  fight  against  the  "Mills  Bill"  in  1888,  as  the 
head  of  the  Republican  minority.  It  was  in  this  year  (1888)  that 
he  was  elected  to  Congress  for  the  seventh  consecutive,  but,  as  it 
proved,  last  time,  and  it  was  in  this  year  also  that  the  first  sugges- 
tion of  his  name  for  the  Presidency  was  made. 

It  was  the  Chicago  convention  that  nominated  Harrison. 
The  delegates,  convinced  that  Sherman  was  a  political  impossibility, 
started  a  stampede  for  McKinley,  which  was  only  quelled  by  the 
emphatic  refusal  of  the  Ohio  statesman  to  betray  the  constituency 
who  had  sent  him  to  the  convention  to  nominate  Sherman. 
Memorable  in  the  history  of  political  campaigning  are  the  words 
with  which  he  concluded  a  speech  in  which  gracious  appreciation 
of  an  honor  was  finally  mingled  with  earnest  recall  to  a  duty  :  "I 
demand  that  no  delegate  who  would  not  cast  reflection  upon  ine 
shall  vote  for  me." 

GAINED    THE  GOOD  WILL  OF  ALL. 

It  was  such  sterling  political  qualities  as  these  that  gave  the 
statesman  a  hold  on  all  who  came  in  contact  with  him  in  any  way. 
Events  were  moving  fast  to  make  him  a  national  figure.  In  Con- 
gress for  the  last  time,  the  death  of  William  D.  Kelly,  in  January, 
1890  made  McKinley  the  Chairman  of  the  Ways  and  Means 
Committee  and  leader  of  his  party  in  the  House.  He  was  not 
unprepared  for  such  a  position,  as  his  first  speech  in  Congress 
had  been  on  the  tariff  issue,  and  since  1881  his  whole  attention 
had  been  devoted  to  a  study  of  the  subject,  so  that  he  was  the 
master  of  the  fact  and  theory.  During  these  years  of  debate 
he  had  won  from  friends  and  opponents  a  reputation  as  a  singu- 
larly clear  and  logical  debater,  who  had  a  great  talent  for  mar- 
shaling facts  in  order  like  a  column  of  troops,  and  threwing  them 
against  the  vital  point  in  a  controversy. 

He  had  a  pleasing  voice  of  good,  strong  quality,  he  never 
rambled,  he  told  no  anecdotes,  he  indulged  in  no  sophomoric 


CAREER   OF   PRESIDENT   McKINLEY.  77 

flights  of  oratory  ;  lie  went  straight  to  the  marrow  of  his  theme 
by  processes  of  argument  and  illustration  so  clear,  simple  and 
direct  that  he  won  respect  and  admiration  from  both  sides  of  the 
House.  One  of  his  leading  opponents  used  to  say  that  he  had  to 
brace  himself  mentally  not  to  be  carried  away  by  the  strong 
undercurrent  of  McKinley's  irresistibly  persuasive  talk. 

As  a  result  of  these  years  of  study  and  experience  he  laid 
before  Congress  and  carried  through  two  important  measures — 
— the  customs  administration  bill  and  the  famous  McKinley  tariff 
bill — the  "  McKinley  bill,"  by  virtue  of  its  eminence,  the  latter 
not  only  giving  him.  fame  with  his  countrymen,  but  a  notoriety 
in  Europe  of  the  most  far-reaching  character.  The  McKinley  bill 
became  a  law  on  October  6,  1890,  and  unfortunately  on  his  head 
and  on  his  bill  fell  all  the  odium  of  the  hard  times  which  were 
due  to  other  policies  of  other  men,  and  as  a  result  of  a  third 
gerrymandering  of  his  district  and  a  reaction  against  his  party 
he  was  defeated  for  Congress  in  November,  but  not  until  he  had 
wrested  three  out  of  four  counties  of  his  district  from  the  Demo- 
crats and  was  beaten  by  only  302  votes,  having  reduced  the 
enemy's  probable  majority  by  2800. 

PROTECTION  TO  AMERICAN   HOMES. 

The  law  of  1890  was  enacted  for  the  American  people  and 
the  American  home.  Whatever  mistakes  were  made  in  it  were 
all  made  in  favor  of  the  occupations  and  the  firesides  of  the 
American  people.  It  didn't  take  away  a  single  day's  work  from 
a  solitary  workingman.  It  gave  work  and  wages  to  all,  such  as 
they  had  never  had  before.  It  did  it  by  establishing  new  and 
great  industries  in  this  country,  which  increased  the  demand  for 
the  skill  and  handiwork  of  our  laborers  everywhere.  It  had  no 
friends  in  Kurope.  It  gave  their  industries  no  stimulus.  It  gave 
no  employment  to  their  labor  at  the  expense  of  our  own. 

During  more  than  two  years  of  the  administration  of  Presi- 
dent Harrison,  and  down  to  its  end,  it  raised  all  the  revenue 
necessary  to  pay  the  vast  expenditures  of  the  Government, 
including  the  interest  on  the  public  debt  and  the  pensions.  It 


71  CAREER   OF   PRESIDENT   McKINLEY. 

never  encroached  upon  the  gold  reserve,  which  in  the  past  had 
always  been  sacredly  preserved  for  the  redemption  of  outstanding 
paper  obligations  of  the  Government. 

"  During  all  of  its  operations,  down  to  the  change  and  reversal 
of  its  policy  by  the  election  of  1892,  no  man  can  assert  that  in  the 
industries  affected  by  it  wages  were  too  high,  although  they  were 
higher  than  ever  before  in  this  or  any  other  country.  If  any 
such  can  be  found,  I  beg  that  they  be  named.  I  challenge  the 
enemies  of  the  law  of  1890  to  name  a  single  industry  of  that 
kind.  Further,  I  assert  that  in  the  industries  affected  by  that 
law,  which  the  law  fostered,  no  American  consumer  suffered  by 
the  increased  cost  of  any  home  products  that  he  bought.  He 
never  bought  them  so  low  before,  nor  did  he  ever  enjoy  the 
benefit  of  so  much  open,  free,  home  competition.  Neither 
producer  nor  consumer,  employer  or  employee,  suffered  by  that  law. 

LARGEST  VOTE  EVER  CAST  FOR  GOVERNOR. 

What  the  people  of  Ohio  thought  of  the  matter  was  proved 
by  their  making  him  Governor  the  next  year,  he  polling  the 
largest  vote  ever  cast  for  Governor,  and  in  1893,  when  renomi- 
nated  to  that  office,  his  plurality  was  the  largest  ever  given  a 
gubernatorial  candidate  in  time  of  peace.  It  was  while  he  was 
Governor  that  he  was  a  delegate  to  the  Minneapolis  convention 
that  renominated  Harrison,  where  he  again  displayed  his  sense 
of  honor  and  stood  by  the  President.  He  was  chairman  of  the 
convention  and  an  attempt  was  made  to  railroad  him  in  over  the 
heads  of  both  Harrison  and  Elaine,  but  he  steadfastly  declined 
the  nomination,  though  the  vote  on  the  first  ballot  stood,  Har- 
rison, 535 ;  Elaine,  182  ;  McKinley,  182  :  Reed,  4 ;  Robert 
Lincoln,  i. 

But  the  very  sacrifices  he  made  for  his  friends^  his  rugged 
honor  and  honorable  frankness,  coupled  with  his  known  policies, 
made  him  the  leader  of  his  party  as  a  man  and  as  an  exponent 
of  its  economic  theories  of  government  and  their  application  and 
administration.  Consequently,  on  June  18,  1896,  at  the  Repub- 
lican National  Convention  held  at  St.  Louis,  McKinley  was 


CAREER   OF    PRESIDENT   McKINLEY.  78 

proposed  for  the  Presidency  for  the  third  time.  The  situation 
was  not  that  of  1888  or  1892,  the  field  was  open  to  him  and  he 
\vas  nominated  on  the  first  ballot,  receiving  66 1%  votes,  the 
nearest  to  him,  Reed,  securing  but  84^,  and  was  elected  in 
November,  receiving  7,104,799  votes  at  the  polls,  a  plurality  of 
601,854  over  Bryan,  and  in  the  electoral  college  271  votes  to 
Bryan's  176. 

The  nomination  and  election  of  1896  came  to  Major  McKinley 
when  he  was  53  years  old,  experienced  in  public  life  through  his 
splendid  Congressional  drill  of  fourteen  years,  from  1877  to  1891,  and 
his  executive  training  as  Governor  of  Ohio  from  1892  to  1896. 
Moreover,  as  one  of  the  few  rare  and  natural  campaigners,  the 
President  had  come  in  touch  with  the  people  in  a  way  that  put  him 
thoroughly  in  touch  with  American  hopes,  feelings,  aspirations. 
He  knew  what  the  people  believed  in  and  he  felt  convinced  that 
he  knew  the  policies,  fiscal,  economic,  administrative,  that  meant 
their  welfare  and  permanent  rehabilitation  of  the  industries  of  the 
entire  country.  In  all  his  career  he  had  never  gotten  out  of  touch 
with  the  plain  people,  those  who  make  up  the  brain  and  brawn  of 
the  nation,  and  it  was  as  their  choice  that  he  went  into  the  White 
House  in  1897. 

A  CRITICAL  PERIOD. 

No  President  ever  entered  upon  his  duties  at  a  more  critical 
moment.  The  country  had  passed  through  a  severe  industrial 
and  financial  crisis,  the  unwise  legislation  of  Democratic  theorists 
with  the  threat  of  their  monetary  vagaries  had  paralyzed  manu- 
factures, halted  trade,  put  an  embargo  on  commerce  and  shrunk 
credit  to  such  an  extent  that  the  complex  business  needs  of  the 
country  were  absolutely  powerless  despite  the  vast  natural 
resources  and  the  energy  of  the  people.  During  the  campaign  the 
President  had  not  hesitated  to  predict  returning  prosperity  if  the 
economic  policy  of  the  Democrats  be  reversed  and  the  country  rest 
its  finances  on  the  gold  standard. 

On  election  the  way  he  met  the  gigantic  issues  which  awaited 
him  on  his  induction  into  office  on  March  4, 1897,  and  the  supreme 


SO  CAREER   OF    PRESIDENT   McKINLEY. 

skill  with  which  he  sailed  the  Ship  of  State  through  very  stormy 
waters  won  the  admiration  of  the  whole  country.  Immediately 
convening  Congress  in  extraordinary  session,  he  recommended  a 
consideration  of  the  tariff  problem.  The  Dingley  law  was  passed, 
and  business  prospects  brightend  instantly.  Under  the  low 
Wilson  bill  tariff  financial  failures  in  the  country  during  the 
first  six  months  of  1896  alone  numbered  7,602,  with  liabilities 
amounting  to  $105,535,936. 

The  first  six  months  of  1900  under  "  McKinley  times" 
showed  the  smallest  number  of  failures  known  in  a  like  period  of 
time  within  eighteen  years,  the  decrease  in  liabilities  alone  from 
the  first  half  of  1896  being  $45,471,728. 

SOUND  CURRENCY  BASIS. 

The  President's  plan  to  provide  a  more  stable  currency  basis, 
as  set  forth  in  his  first  and  second  annual  addresses,  was  that 
"  when  any  of  the  United  States  notes  are  presented  for  redemp- 
tion in  gold  and  are  redeemed  in  gold,  such  notes  shall  be  kept 
and  set  apart  and  only  paid  out  in  exchange  for  gold,"  but  though 
the  Dingley  bill  became  law  on  July  24,  1897,  it  was  not  until 
March  14,  1900,  that  the  financial  reforms  of  the  McKinley 
administration  were  completed  in  the  passage  of  the  "  Gold 
Standard  Act." 

The  President's  messages,  after  prosperity  had  been  assured 
by  the  tariff  measure,  so  that  the  President  indeed  proved  that 
the  campaign  phrase  dubbing  William  McKinley  the  "  advance 
agent  of  prosperity  "  had  been  no  idle  boast,  were  marked  by  a 
broad  grasp  of  the  practical  problems  in  hand  which  took  on  more 
and  more  of  an  international  character  as  the  difficulties  with 
Spain  over  Cuba  increased  and  the  Kastern  situation  owing  to  the 
weakness  of  China  took  on  a  threatening  attitude. 

In  his  message  to  the  special  session  of  1897,  which  enacted 
the  Dingley  law,  the  President  had  dwelt  wholly  on  the  tariff,  but 
in  his  regular  message  to  Congress,  in  December,  1897,  he  asked 
for  the  full  consideration  of  the  currency  question,  and  he  re- 
peated this  recommendation  in  1898,  holding  before  Congress  the 


CAREER   OF   PRESIDENT   McKINLEY.  81 

necessity  of  putting  the  finances  of  the  country  on  the  soundest 
possible  basis.  As  a  result  of  this  confidence  was  restored 
throughout  the  country,  business  revived,  and  some  of  the  fiscal 
effects  of  McKinley's  first  administration  were  marvelous.  The 
total  money  in  circulation  on  July  i,  1896,  was  $1,509,725,206. 

Four  years  later  under  McKinley  that  had  increased  to 
$2,062,425,496,  and  on  February  i,  1901,  the  total  money  in 
circulation  was  $2,190,780,213.  Instead  of  the  amount  of  money 
in  circulation  decreasing,  the  per  capita  increased  from  $21.15 
Tuly  i,  1896,  to  $26.50  Jnly  i,  1900,  and  to  $28.38  February  i, 
1901.  Thus  the  per  capita  circulation  of  money  in  the  United 
States  has  increased  over  26  per  cent.,  the  total  money  in  circula- 
tion over  33  per  cent.,  and  the  gold  in  circulation  over  62  per 

cent. 

IMMENSE  CASH  BALANCE. 

Instead  of  a  bankrupt  Treasury,  there  was  a  cash  balance 
under  the  old  form  at  the  beginning  of  his  second  administration 
of  nearly  $300,000,000.  Under  the  new  form,  with  $150,000,000 
set  aside  as  a  reserve  fund,  there  was  an  available  cash  balance 
of  nearly  $150,000,000.  In  the  refunding  of  the  public  debt, 
$9,000,000  was  saved,  and  in  addition  $7,000,000  annually  on 
interest.  But  it  was  not  so  much  the  successful  issue  of  the 
financial  affairs,  as  near  as  they  were  to  the  pockets  of  every  one, 
that  lifted  the  President  and  his  administration  to  a  level  never 
before  occupied  by  a  group  of  american  statesmen,  but  the  brilliant 
achievements  in  the  field  of  foreign  affairs,  which  found  the 
United  States  at  the  beginning  of  the  President's  administration 
a  self-contained  continental  power,  isolated  and  ignored  in  many 
of  the  counsels  of  the  world  powers,  and  left  it  at  the  close  of  his 
first  administration,  after  the  issue  of  the  war  with  Spain,  one  ol 
the  four  leading  powers,  in  whose  hands  are  the  destinies  of  the 
globe. 

The  first  remote  hint  of  a  possible  conflict  with  Spain  and 
the  first  action  in  Congress  on  the  Cuban  question  came  from  the 
Presidential  appeal  for  the  relief  of  the  destitution  of  Cuba,  Con- 
gress appropriating  $50,000  on  May  17,  1897,  Less  than  a  yeai 


82  CAREER    OF    PRESIDENT    McKINLEY. 

later,  as  tlie  situation  in  Cuba  failed  to  improve,  Congress  passed 
the  famous  $50,000,000  appropriation  on  March  8,  1898,  to  be  used 
at  the  President's  discretion  "  for  the  national  defense,"  and, 
although  the  President  was  opposed  to  hurrying  into  a  war  until 
all  other  avenues  for  bringing  Spain  to  her  senses  were  closed, 
war  rapidly  became  the  only  possible  solution. 

On  March  23,  the  President  sent  to  Spain  an  ultimatum  con- 
cerning fhe  intolerable  situation  in  Cuba,  and  on  April  n,  after 
the  report  of  the  ^burt  of  Inquiry  on  the  destruction  of  the  "Maine" 
had  fixed  the  origin  of  the  explosion  on  an  outside  cause,  the 
President  sent  a  firm  but  dignified  message  to  Congress,  advising 
intervention  for  the  sake  of  humanity,  but  advising  against  a 
recognition  of  the  Cuban  Government. 

CALL  FOR  VOLUNTEERS. 

On  April  23,  the  President  issued  a  call  for  125,000  volunteers, 
and  in  a  message  to  Congress  on  April  25,  the  President  recom- 
mended the  passage  of  a  joint  resolution  declaring  that  war  with 
Spain  existed.  The  acts  of  war  then  came  fast  and  thick. 
Dewey's  victory  at  Manila  on  May  i,  was  followed  by  the  defeat 
of  Cervera  at  Santiago  July  3,  Hawaii  was  annexed  on  July  7,  and 
on  August  9,  Spain  formally  accepted  the  President's  terms  of 
peace,  the  armistice  following  on  August  12,  and  the  final  treaty 
of  peace  being  signed  on  December  10,  1898,  by  which  the  United 
States  became  possessed  of  Porto  Rico,  Guam,  the  Philippines,  a 
colonial  domain  rivaling  England's  at  a  cost  of  $20,000,000,  and 
the  President's  policy  of  expansion  was  fully  entered  in  upon  with 
the  evident  approval  of  the  people. 

The  war,  however,  not  only  added  to  the  bounds  and  respon- 
sibilities of  the  United  States,  but  was  largely  responsible  under 
the  influence  of  the  President  in  his  intercourse  with  public  men: 
of  the  opposition  in  promoting  an  era  of  good  feeling.  The  com- 
plete obliteration  of  sectional  lines  had  been  secured  and  the 
President  found  as  his  first  term  came  to  an  end  that  he  was  more 
truly  than  for  many  years  past  the  President  of  a  united  country. 

The  influence  of  his  example,  the  power  of  his  position  and 


CAREER   OF   PRESIDENT   McKINLEY.  83 

all  the  force  of  his  ability  were  constantly  given  to  this  end,  and 
his  gratification  at  the  fulfillment  of  so  noble  an  inspiration  found 
voice  at  Atlanta  in  these  words — "  Reunited — one  country  again 
and  one  country  forever  !  Proclaim  it  from  the  press  and  pulpit ; 
teach  it  in  the  schools  ;  write  it  across  the  skies  !  The  world  sees 
and  feels  it ;  it  cheers  every  heart  North  and  South,  and  brightens 
the  life  of  every  American  home  !  Let  nothing  ever  strain  it 
again  !  At  peace  with  all  the  world  and  with  each  other,  what  can 
stand  in  the  pathway  of  our  progress  and  prosperity." 

Later,  upon  the  field  of  Aiitietam,  where  he  had  distinguished 
himself  as  commissary  sergeant  when  a  lad  of  nineteen,  the  Presi- 
dent spoke  again  upon  this  subject,  and  said  :  "Standing  here  to- 
day, one  reflection  only  has  crowded  my  mind — the  difference 
between  this  scene  and  that  of  thirty-eight  years  ago.  Then  the 
men  who  wore  the  blue  and  the  men  who  wore  the  grey  greeted 
each  other  with  shot  and  shell,  and  visited  death  upon  their  re- 
spective ranks.  We  meet,  after  all  these  intervening  years,  with 
but  one  sentiment — that  of  loyalty  to  the  Government  of  the 
United  States,  love  of  our  flag  and  our  free  institutions,  and  de- 
termined, men  of  the  North  and  men  of  the  South,  to  make  any 
sacrifice  for  the  honor  and  perpetuity  of  the  American  nation." 

HIS  SUCCESSFUL  POLICY. 

The  President  thus  stood  for  reconciliation  and  harmony  the 
land  over,  and  in  carrying  out  his  policies  he  was  able  by  his 
persuasive  powers  and  the  sheer  force  of  character  to  rally  the 
opposition  to  his  side,  so  that  his  policy  during  and  after  the  war 
became  the  policy  of  Congress,  and  what,  with  the  new  islands 
left  to  his  care,  Cuba  also  in  his  charge  as  a  ward  by  treaty,  the 
closing  years  of  his  first  administration  were  very  busy  ones  for 
the  President,  who,  however,  never  flinched  at  his  work  nor 
vacillated  in  his  determination  to  promote  the  good  of  the  people 
under  his  charge,  even  though  the  misguided  revolutionists  in 
the  Philippines  forced  the  United  States  during  1899,  1900  and 
1901  to  take  stern  measures  for  the  securing  of  law,  order,  peace 
and  prosperity  for  the  Philippine  Islands  as  a  whole. 


84  CAREER  OF   PRESIDENT   McKINLEY. 

Such  was  the  confidence  in  the  President  and  his  wise  man- 
agement of  national  affairs  that  not.  only  was  he  triumphantly 
renoininated  by  the  Philadelphia  convention  on  June  21,  1900, 
but  was  triumphantly  re-elected,  November  6,  with  a  larger 
plurality  than  in  1896,  and  with  292  votes  in  the  electoral  college 
to  Bryan's  155.  McKinley  carried  twenty -eight  States,  repre- 
senting the  wealth  and  resources  and  the  centres  of  power  in  the 
country  to  seventeen  for  Bryan,  and  the  popular  vote  for  him  was 
7,206,677. 

This  support  of  the  people  for  the  President  as  a  public  man, 
and  their  personal  regard  for  him,  evinced  so  often  on  his  tours 
through  the  country,  the  last  and  not  the  least  exhibition  being 
that  made  during  the  tour  of  last  Spring,  abandoned  at  San  Fran- 
cisco on  account  of  Mrs.  McKinley,  were  but  faint  reflections  of 
the  closet  support  and  regard  of  his  friends. 

BECAME  A  NOTABLE  FIGURE. 

"  When  he  was  pressing  the  passage  of  the  famous  tariff  bill 
which  was  known  by  his  name,  his  frankness  was  only  matched  by 
his  amiability,"  wrote  one  man.  "So  when  the  bill  had  been  passed, 
McKinley  was  the  most  notable  figure  in  Washington  and  he  was 
respected  alike  by  those  who  had  fought  with  and  those  who 
had  fought  against  him.  There  probably  never  was  a  measure 
passed  in  Washington  of  so  much  importance  as  this  with  so  little 
hard  feeling  and  so  few  hard  words.  There  was  no  mistaking 
McKinley' s  intention.  He  was  always  entirely  frank  and  open 
and  aboveboard.  He  tried  no  devious  ways  ;  he  had  no  concealed 
traps  to  spring.  And  so  those  who  fought  him  hardest  became  his 
well-wishers  as  a  man,  whatever  they  thought  of  his  policies." 

This  frankness  and  his  true  self  were  never  better  exhibited 
than  in  the  announcement  made  after  his  return  from  his  Cali- 
fornia tour  with  regard  to  a  third  term.  Almost  from  the  bedside 
of  his  helpless  wife  he  wrote  : 

"  I  regret  that  the  suggestion  of  a  thiid  term  has  been  made. 
I  doubt  whether  I  am  called  up:m  to  give  it  notice.  But  there  are 


CAREER   OF    PRESIDENT   McKINLEY.  85 

now  questions  of  the  greatest  importance  before  the  Administra- 
tion and  the  country,  and  their  just  consideration  should  not 
be  prejudiced  in  the  public  mind  by  even  the  suspicion  of  the 
thought  of  a  third  term.  In  view,  therefore,  of  the  reiteration  of 
the  suggestion  of  it,  I  will  say  now,  once  for  all,  expressing  a  long 
settled  conviction,  that  I  not  only  am  not  and  will  not  be  a  candi- 
date for  a  third  term,  but  would  not  accept  a  nomination  for  it,  if 
it  were  tendered  me. 

"  My  only  ambition  is  to  serve  through  my  second  term  to 
the  acceptance  of  my  countrymen,  whose  generous  confidence  I 
so  deeply  appreciate,  and  then  with  them  to  do  my  duty  in  the 
ranks  of  private  citizenship. 

"WILLIAM  M'KINLEY." 

Executive  Mansion,  Washington,  June  n,  1901. 
A  MAN  OF  HARD  COMMON  SENSE. 

This  letter  has  the  true  McKinley  ring.  It  exhibits  the 
President's  common  sense — one  of  his  saving  graces  that  added 
to  his  high  value  in  public  life.  "  His  predominant  character- 
istics," wrote  an  admirer  on  the  eve  of  his  re-election  in  1900, 
"his  most  predominant  characteristics  which  bind  great  bodies  of 
men  to  him  with  rivets  of  steel ;  which  have  lifted  him  from  the 
position  of  a  private  soldier  to  that  of  Chief  Magistrate  of  the 
nation,  which  have  sustained  him  and  carried  him  through  the 
many  great  crises  confronting  him,  and  have  given  him  the  trust 
and  confidence  of  the  American  people — are  his  moral  strength 
and  his  unflinching  courage  to  do  the  right  as  he  sees  it,  irrespec- 
tive of  temporary  consequences.  His  natural  gentleness  and  his 
tendency  to  ignore  small  and  non-essential  differences,  his  willing- 
ness to  oblige  even  his  enemies  and  his  utter  lack  of  vindictive- 
ness — all  these,  when  the  times  of  crisis  have  come,  and  the  eyes 
of  the  people  have  turned  to  him,  alone  have  given  him  added 
strength  to  achieve  great  results  in  public  affairs." 

His  domestic  virtues  were  not  only  revealed  in  his  tender 
devotion  to  his  wife,  so  signally  exhibited  last  May  at  San 
Francisco,  but  in  his  respect  for  his  father,  who  died  in  November 


86  CAREER    OF   PRESIDENT   McKINLEY. 

1892,  and  for  his  mother,  Nancy  Allison  McKinley,  who  enjoyed 
the  supreme  felicity  of  all  American  mothers  of  seeing  her  son 
in  the  White  House,  dying  at  Canton,  O.,  December  12,  1897, 
The  iuvalidism  of  Mrs.  McKinley  threw  a  peculiarly  pathetic 
aspect  over  their  mutual  affection.  Their  relations  were  singu- 
larly tender  and  touching,  Mrs.  McKinley  seldom  allowing  her 
state  of  health  to  keep  her  from  her  husband's  side  whenever 
called,  and  he,  even  when  so  harassed  by  State  problems  as  to  be 
unable  to  snatch  time  for  sleep,  writing  to  her  every  night  when 
absent,  obeying  the  slightest  call  to  her  side  when  they  were 

together. 

FELLOW   FEELING  FOR  WORKINGMAN. 

His  intense  brotherly  feeling  for  the  workingman  was  one 
of  his  dominant  characteristics,  and  manifested  itself  in  more 
practical  forms  than  this.  When  Governor  of  Ohio  in  1895,  he 
received  at  midnight  the  news  that  2000  miners  in  the  Hocking 
Valley  district  were  without  food  or  employment.  By  five  o'clock 
the  next  morning  $1000  worth  of  provisions  were  loaded  on  a  car 
and  despatched  to  the  scene  of  distress,  on  the  personal  respon- 
sibility of  the  Governor.  Later,  contributions  from  the  leading 
cities  of  the  State  brought  the  relief  fund  up  to  $32,796,  but  the 
tl  Governor's  car"  was  the  first  to  arrive. 

A  side  of  Mr.  McKinley's  nature,  of  which  only  his  more 
intimate  friends  caught  glimpses,  was  his  deep  religious  faith. 
In  early  life,  during  his  student  days  at  the  Poland  Academy, 
he  had  joined  the  Methodist  Church,  of  which  he  always 
remained  a  loyal  member,  active  in  church  work  until  national 
issues  began  to  fill  his  hands.  "  Many  of  us  thought  he  would 
become  a  minister,"  said  Rev.  Dr.  Morton,  his  first  pastor,  in  a 
recent  reminiscent  talk.  Although  sensitively  shrinking  from 
making  a  prarde  or  profit  of  his  religion,  he  \vas  always  ready  to 
defend  Christians  and  Christianity  when  the  voice  of  the  scoffer 
was  raised  against  them. 

As  an  orator  the  President  was  supreme,  belonging  to  that 
highest  rank  of  public  speakers  who  cultivate  the  matter  of  their 
discourse  and  leave  the  manner  to  nature.  He  never  dealt  in 


CAREER   OF   PRESIDENT    McKINLEY.  47 

sensations,  never  played  on  pathos,  had  no  need  to  be  a  raconteur, 
he  prepared  what  he  had  to  say  with  the  ntmost  care,  and  said  it 
in  the  most  earnest  and  unaffected  way  he  could,  but  with  sure 
effect.  When  the  celebrated  Mills  bill  came  up  before  the  House, 
D.  C.  Haskill,  who  served  with  McKinley  on  the  Ways  and  Means 
Committee,  asked  especially  for  the  honor  of  closing  the  debate. 
The  arrangement  was  made,  therefore,  that  Haskill  spoke  last  and 
McKinley  next  to  the  last.  When  McKinley  had  ended  his  re- 
marks, Haskill  pressed  forward,  wrung  his  hand  cordially  and 
exclaimed  :  "  Major,  I  shall  speak  last ;  but  you,  sir,  have  closed 

the  debate." 

HIS  REMARKABLE  VOICE. 

In  speaking,  the  President  had  a  voice  of  wonderful  carrying 
power,  but  it  was  the  impress  of  conviction  rather  than  his  voice 
that  had  its  effect  on  his  audiences.  His  attitude  in  the  matter  ol 
principles  is  aptly  illustrated  by  an  anecdote  of  one  of  his  congres- 
sional campaigns,  that  of  1882,  in  Ohio,  when  the  Democratic  tidal 
wave  had  left  him  with  a  very  slender  majority.  Referring  to  this 
one  day  Congressman  Springer  said  rather  sneeringly  :  "  Your 
constituents  do  not  seem  to  support  you,  Mr.  McKinley."  Mr. 
McKinley' s  quick  answer  was  worthy  of  a  Roman  tribune.  "  My 
fidelity  to  my  constituents,"  he  said,  "  is  not  measured  by  the  sup- 
port they  give  me.  I  have  convictions  I  would  not  surrender  if 
10,000  majority  were  entered  against  me." 

A  townsman  in  speaking  of  McKinley' s  brief  but  telling 
words  uttered  in  the  Chicago  convention  of  1888,  on  the  issue 
raised  by  the  use  of  his  name  as  a  candidate  for  the  Presidency, 
the  closing  sentence  of  which  speech,  revealing  as  it  does,  the 
speaker's  high  sense  of  honor,  as  has  already  been  quoted,  said: 
''Major,  that  answer  of  yours  was  a  literary  gem." 

"  Well,"  answered  the  Ohio  delegate  with  great  simplicity,  "  I 
got  up  at  5  o'clock  this  morning  and  walked  the  streets  of  Chicago 
until  I  got  just  what  I  wanted." 

This  speech,  which  throws  so  admirable  a  light  on  the  Presi- 
dent's character,  was  as  follows  : — 

"  I  am  here  as  one  of  the  chosen  representatives  of  my  State. 


88  CAREER   OF   PRESIDENT   McKINLEY. 

I  am  here  by  resolution  of  the  Republican  State  Convention, 
passed  without  a  single  dissenting  vote,  commanding  me  to  cast 
my  vote  for  John  Sherman  for  President  and  to  use  every  worthy 
endeavor  for  his  nomination.  I  accepted  the  trust  because  my 
heart  and  my  judgment  were  in  accord  with  the  letter  and  spirit 
and  purpose  of  that  resolution.  It  has  pleased  certain  delegates  to 
cast  their  votes  for  me  for  President.  I  am  not  insensible  to  the 
honor  they  would  do  me,  but  in  the  presence  of  the  duty  resting 
upon  me,  I  cannot  remain  silent  with  honor. 

"  I  cannot,  consistently  with  the  wish  of  the  State  whose  cre- 
dentials I  bear  and  which  has  trusted  me  ;  I  cannot  with  honor- 
able fidelity  to  John  Sherman  ;  I  cannot,  consistently  with  my 
own  views  of  personal  integrity,  consent,  or  seem  to  conset,  to  per- 
mit my  name  to  be  used  as  a  candidate  before  this  convention.  I 
would  not  respect  myself  if  I  should  find  it  in  my  heart  to  do  so, 
or  permit  to  be  done  that  which  would  ever  be  ground  for  any  one 
to  suspect  that  I  wavered  in  my  loyalty  to  Ohio  or  my  devotion 
to  the  chief  of  her  choice  and  the  chief  of  mine.  I  do  not  request, 
I  demand,  that  no  delegate  who  would  not  cast  reflection  upon  me 
shall  cast  a  ballot  for  me." 

CAMPAIGN  ACHIEVEMENTS. 

In  number  alone  the  McKinley  speeches  are  impressive  as 
betokening  a  magnificent  reserve  store  of  vitality,  ten  addresses 
a  day  consecutively  for  a  month  being  among  his  campaign 
achievements  in  the  old  times.  But  they  were  always  feats  of 
strength  in  the  intellectual  even  more  than  the  physical  sense, 
many  of  them  having  already  passed  into  the  classics  of  politico- 
social  literature,  while  his  State  papers  have  not  only  had  a  pro- 
found effect  on  the  thought  of  the  day,  but  are  for  the  future  as 
well. 

One  who  knew  him  well  described  him  as  follows  : — 

"  Quiet,  dignified,  modest,  considerate  of  others ;  ever  mindful 

of  the  long  service  of  the  leaders  of  his  party,  true  as  steel  to  his 

friends  ;  unhesitating  at  the  call  of  duty,  no  matter  what  the 

personal  sacrifice ;    unwavering  in  his  integrity,  full  of  tact  in 


CAREER   OF   PRESIDENT   McKINLEY.  89 

overcoming  opposition,  yet  unyielding  on  vital  principles  ;  with  a 
heart  fulj  of  sympathy  for  those  who  toil,  a  disposition  unspoiled 
by  success,  and  a  private  life  equally  spotless  and  self-sacrificing, 
William  McKinley  stood  before  the  American  people  as  one  of 
the  finest  types  of  courageous,  persevering,  vigorous  and  develop- 
ing manhood  that  this  Republic  ever  produced.  More  than  any 
other  President  since  Lincoln,  perhaps,  he  was  in  touch  with 
those  whom  Abraham  Lincoln  loved  to  call  the  plain  people  of 
this  country. 

A  greater  encomium  could  not  be  written  and  the  people  will 
treasure  it  as  the  President's  name  and  fame  become  splendid 
memories  ;  for  though  Washingson's  name  is  ever  first  in  the 
people's  thoughts,  Lincoln's  ever  immanent  as  the  glorious 
martyr  to  a  great  cause,  the  name  of  McKinley  crystalizes  an 
epoch,  the  most  signal  in  the  history  of  the  Republic,  surpassing 
in  its  achievements,  under  his  administration,  the  most  brilliant 
efforts  of  the  past  and  dazzling  in  its  possibilities  for  the  future 
of  the  people,  and  of  the  Goverment  for  the  people  and  by  the 
people,  whose  preservation  in  all  perpetuity  of  its  free  institutions 
was  his  fondest  wish  and  to  whose  service  he  gave  a  lifetime  of 
high  endeavor. 


CHAPTER   IV 

Additional  Account  of  President  McKinley's  Life — Illus- 
trious Ancestry — A  Young  Patriot  in  the  Army — First 
Term  in  the  White  House  and  Re-election. 

[The  following  sketch  of  President  McKinley's  career  was 
prepared  by  Mr.  George  R.  Prowell  for  a  semi-official  publication. 
The  data  were  furnished  by  Private  Secretary  Cortelyou,  and  the 
article — of  course,  with  the  exception  of  the  concluding  paragraphs 
— was  revised  by  the  President  himself.] 

WILLIAM  McKINLEY,  twenty-fifth  President  of  the  United 
States,  was  born  in  Niles,  Ohio,  January  29,  1843  >  son  °f 
William  and  Nancy  Campbell  (Allison)  McKinley,  grandson  of 
James  and  Polly  (Rose)  McKinley  and  of  Abner  and  Ann  (Camp- 
bell) Allison,  and  great-grandson  of  David  and  Sarah  (Gray) 
McKinley  and  of  Andrew  Rose,  an  ironmaster  of  Bucks  county, 
Pa.,  who  was  sent  home  from  the  Revolutionary  War  to  make 
cannon  and  bullets  for  the  army. 

David's  father,  John  McKinley,  came  to  America  from  Der- 
vock,  County  Antrim,  Ireland,  in  1743,  when  twelve  years  of  age, 
and  the  relatives  with  whom  he  came  located  in  Chanceford 
township,  York  county,  Pa.  David  was  born  there  May  16,  1755, 
served  for  twenty-one  months  in  the  Revolution  in  the  Pennsyl- 
vania line,  and  after  peace  was  restored,  became  an  iron  manu- 
facturer in  Westmoreland  county,  where  he  was  married,  December 
17,  1780,  to  Sarah  Gray.  He  removed  to  Pine  township,  Mercer 
county,  in  1795,  and  in  1815  to  Columbiana  county,  Ohio,  where 
he  died  in  1840.  His  seventh  child,  William,  was  born  in  Pine 
township,  in  1807,  was  married  in  1829,  an^  engaged  in  iron 
manufacturing  at  Niles,  Trumbull  county,  Ohio,  where  his  son, 
William,  \vas  born. 

On  his  removal,  in  1852,  to  Poland,  William,  Jr.,  attended 
the  Union  Seminary  until  1860,  when  he  entered  the  junior  class 

90 


GRAND   MILITARY  AND   CIVIL  RECORD.  91 

of  Allegheny  College,  Meadville,  Pa.,  but  before  closing  his  class 
year,  was  obliged  to  leave  on  account  of  a  severe  illness.  He 
then  taught  a  district  school,  and  was  clerk  in  the  Poland  post 
office. 

On  June  n,  1861,  he  enlisted  as  a  private  in  Company  K, 
Twenty-third  Ohio  Volunteer  Infantry,  served  in  Western  Vir- 
ginia, and  saw  his  first  battle  at  Carnifex  Ferry,  September  10, 
T86i.  On  April  15,  1862,  he  was  promoted  commissary  sergeant, 
and  served  as  such  in  the  battle  of  Antietam  with  such  conspic- 
uous gallantry  as  to  win  for  him  promotion,  September  24,  1862, 
to  the  rank  of  second  lieutenant.  On  February  7,  1863,  ne  was 
made  first  lieutenant,  and  on  July  25,  1864,  was  raised  to  the  rank 
of  captain.  He  served  on  the  staffs  of  Generals  Hayes,  Crook, 
Hancock,  Sheridan  and  Carroll ;  was  brevetted  major  March  13, 
1865,  for  gallantry  at  Opequan,  Cedar  Creek  and  Fisher's  Hill, 
and  was  serving  as  acting  assistant  adjutant  general  in  the  First 
Division,  First  Army  Corps,  when  he  was  mustered  out,  July 

26,  1865. 

LAW  STUDENT  AT  YOUNGSTOWN. 

He  returned  home,  and  studied  law  at  Youngstown,  Ohio, 
and  at  the  Albany  Law  School,  and  was  admitted  to  the  Ohio  Bar 
at  Warren,  in  March,  1867,  and  settled  in  practice  in  Canton, 
Ohio.  He  was  elected  by  the  Republicans  of  Stark  county  Prose- 
cuting Attorney,  and  served  1870-71,  but  was  defeated  for  re-elec- 
tion. He  was  married  January  25,  1871,  to  Ida,  daughter  of 
James  A.  and  Catherine  (Dewalt)  Saxton,  of  Canton,  Ohio. 

He  was  a  Representative  from  the  Seventeenth  District  of 
Ohio  in  the  Forty-fifth  Congress,  defeating  Leslie  L.  Lanborn, 
1877-79  ;  from  the  Sixteenth  District  in  the  Forty-sixth  Congress, 
defeating  General  Aquilla  Wiley,  1879-81,  and  from  the  Seven- 
teenth District  in  the  Forty-seventh  Congress,  defeating  Leroy  D. 
Thoman,  1881-83.  His  party  claimed  that  he  was  elected  from 
the  Eighteenth  District  to  the  Forty-eighth  Congress  in  1882  by  a 
majority  of  eight  votes,  and  he  was  given  the  certificate  of  election 
but  his  seat  was  successfully  contested  by  Jonathan  H.  Wallace, 
of  Columbiana  county,  who  was  seated  in  June,  1884. 


92  GRAND   MILITARY  AND   CIVIL   RECORD. 

Mr.  McKinley  was  elected  from  the  Twentieth  District  to  the 
Forty-ninth  Congress,  defeating  David  R.  Paige,  1885-87,  and 
from  the  Eighteenth  District  to  the  Fiftieth  and  Fifty-first  Con- 
gresses, against  Wallace  H.  Phelps  and  George  P.  Ikert,  respec- 
tively, serving  1887-91,  and  was  defeated  in  the  Sixteenth  District 
for  Representative  to  the  Fifty-second  Congress  in  1890  by  John 
G.  Warwick,  of  Massillon,  Democrat,  by  302  votes.  The  changes 
in  the  Congressional  districts  were  due  to  political  expedients  used 
by  the  party  in  power,  and  Mr.  McKinley,  while  always  a  resident  of 
Stark  county,  was  in  this  way  obliged  to  meet  the  conditions 
caused  by  the  combination  of  contiguous  counties  in  the  efforts  of 
the  opposition  to  defeat  him. 

APPOINTED  ON  JUDICIARY  COMMITTEE. 

He  was  appointed  by  Speaker  Randall  in  1877  to  a  place  on 
the  Judiciary  Committee,  and  he  succeeded  Representative  James 
A.  Garfied  on  the  Ways  and  Means  Committee  in  December,  1880. 
In  the  Forty-sixth  Congress  he  was  appointed  on  the  House  Com- 
mittee of  Visitors  to  the  United  States  Military  Academy,  and  in 
1 88 1  he  was  Chairman  of  the  committee  having  in  charge  the 
Garfield  memorial  exercises  in  the  House.  In  Congress  he  sup- 
ported a  high  protective  tariff,  making  a  notable  speech  on  the 
subject  April  6,  1882,  and  his  speech  on  the  Morrison  Tariff  bill, 
April  30,  1884,  was  said  to  be  the  most  effective  argument  made 
against  it. 

On  April  16,  1890,  as  Chairman  of  the  Committee  on  Ways 
and  Means  as  successor  to  Judge  Kelley,  he  introduced  the  gen- 
eral tariff  measure  afterwards  known  by  his  name,  and  his  speech 
before  the  House,  May  7,  1890,  fully  established  his  powers  as 
an  orator.  The  bill  passed  the  House  May  21,  and  the  Senate, 
after  a  protracted  debate,  September  u,  and  became  a  law  October 
6,  1890.  His  notable  congressional  speeches  not  already  men- 
tioned include  that  on  arbitration  as  a  solution  of  labor  troubles, 
April  2,  1886  ;  his  reply,  May  18,  1888,  to  Representative  Samuel 
J.  Randall's  argument  in  favor  of  the  Mills  Tariff  Bill,  of  which 
millions  of  copies  were  circulated  by  the  manufacturing  interests 


GRAND    MILITARY  AND   CIVIL  RECORD.  93 

of  the  country  ;  his  speech  of  December  17,  1889,  introducing  the 
Customs  Administration  bill  to  simplify  the  laws  relating  to  the 
collection  of  revenue,  and  his  forceful  address  sustaining  the 
Civil  Service  law,  April  24,  1890; 

On  the  organization  of  the  Fifty-third  Congress,  December 
3,  1889,  he  was  a  candidate  for  Speaker,  but  was  defeated  on  the 
third  ballot  in  the  Republican  caucus  by  Thomas  B.  Reed.  In 
1880  he  was  chairman  of  the  Republican  State  convention,  and 
was  chosen  by  the  Republican  National  convention  at  Chicago, 
in  June,  1880,  as  the  Ohio  member  of  the  Republican  National 
Committee.  In  this  capacity,  during  the  canvass  of  Garfield  and 
Arthur,  he  spoke  with  General  Garfield  in  the  principal  Northern 
and  Western  States. 

ENTRANCE  INTO  NATIONAL  POLITICS. 

In  national  politics  his  service  began  with  his  election  as  adele- 
gate-at-large  to  the  Republican  National  Convention  that  met  at 
Chicago  June  3,  1884,  and  he  was  made  a  member  of  the  Committee 
on  Resolutions,  and  supported  the  candidacy  of  James  G.  Blaine. 
During  the  canvass  of  that  •  year  he  spoke  with  the  Republican 
.candidate  on  his  celebrated  Western  tour,  and  afterward  in 
Western  Virginia  and  New  York.  In  the  Republican  National 
Convention  that  met  at  Chicago  June  19,  1888,  he  was  Chairman 
of  the  Committee  on  Resolutions,  and  he  supported  the  candidacy 
of  John  Sherman,  although  there  was  a  strong  effort  to  have  him 
consent  to  the  use  of  his  own  name  as  a  candidate. 

In  the  Republican  National  Convention  that  met  at  Minne- 
apolis June  7,  1892,  he  was  a  delegate-at-large  from  Ohio,  and 
permanent  Chairman  of  the  Convention.  He  received  182  votes 
at  this  Convention  for  the  Presidential  nomination,  but  refused  to 
consider  the  action  of  his  friends,  and  left  the  chair  to  move  to 
make  the  nomination  of  President  Harrison  unanimous,  and  he 
was  Chairman  of  the  Committee  to  notify  the  President  of  his 
nomination. 

He  was  Governor  of  Ohio,  1892-96,  defeating  Governor  James 
E.  Campbell  in  1891  by  21,500  plurality,  and  as  Governor  his 


94  GRAND   MILITARY  AND  CIVIL  RECORD. 

sympathies  were  with  the  laboring  men  in  their  contests  with 
capitalists,  and  he  recommended  to  the  Legislature  additional  pro- 
tection co  the  employes  of  railroads.  His  Democratic  opponent 
for  Governor  in  1893  was  Lawrence  T.  Neal,  and  the  issues  of  the 
canvass  were  entirely  national.  McKinley  opposed  both  free  trade 
and  free  silver,  and  he  was  elected  by  over  80,000  plurality.  Dur- 
ing his  second  administration  of  the  State  government  he  was 
obliged  to  call  out  3,000  members  of  the  National  Guard  to  sup- 
press threatened  labor  riots,  and  he  was  able  to  prevent  what 
appeared  to  be  inevitable  mob  violence,  attended  by  lynching. 

HELPS  THE  STARVING  MINERS. 

He  also  personally  supervised  the  distribution  of  funds  and 
provisions  to  the  starving  miners  in  the  Hocking  Valley.  He  took 
an  active  part  in  the  Presidential  campaign  in  1892,  travelling 
over  16,000  miles  and  averaging  seven  speeches  per  day  for  a 
period  of  over  eight  weeks,  during  which  time  it  was  estimated 
that  he  addressed  over  2,000,000  voters.  During  the  Presidential 
canvass  of  1896  he  remained  in  Canton,  and  received  between  June 
19  and  November  2,  over  750,000  visitors,  who  journeyed  from 
all  parts  of  the  Union  to  make  his  personal  acquaintance  and 
listen  to  his  short  speeches  delivered  from  his  piazza,  speaking 
in  this  informal  way  over  300  different  times. 

When  the  Republican  National  Convention  met  in  St.  Louis, 
June  16,  1896,  his  name  was  again  before  the  Convention,  and  on 
the  first  ballot,  made  June  18,  he  received  661^2  votes  to  35/^2  for 
Thomas  B.  Reed,  of  Maine  ;  6o}4  for  Matthew  S.  Quay,  of  Penn- 
sylvania ;  58  for  Levi  P.  Morton,  of  New  York,  and  34^5  for 
William  B.  Allison,  of  Iowa.  He  was  elected  President  of  the 
United  States  November  3,  1896,  the  McKinley  and  Hobart 
Electors  receiving  7,104,779  votes  to  6,402,925  for  the  Bryan  and 
Sewell  Electors,  and  the  minority  candidates,  Levering  and  John- 
son, Prohibition,  receiving  132,000  votes  ;  Palmer  and  Buckner, 
National  Democrat,  133,148  votes  ;  Matchett  and  Maguire,  Social 
Labor,  36,274  votes,  and  Bentley  and  Southgate,  Nationalist, 
13,669  votes. 


GRAND    MILITARY  AND    CIVIL   RECORD.  95 

William  McKinley  was  formally  announced  by  the  Electoral 
College  as  the  choice  of  that  body  for  President  of  the  United 
States  by  a  vote  of  271  to  176  for  W.  J.  Bryan,  and  he  was  inaug- 
urated March  4,  1897,  Chief  Justice  Fuller  administering  the 
oath  of  office.  He  at  once  announced  his  Cabinet,  as  follows  : 

John  Sherman,  of  Ohio,  Secretary  of  State  ;  Lyman  J.  Gage, 
of  Illinois,  Secretary  of  the  Treasury  ;  Russell  A.  Alger,  of  Mich- 
igan, Secretary  of  War ;  Cornelius  N.  Bliss,  of  New  York, 
Secretary  of  the  Interior ;  John  D.  Long,  of  Massachusetts, 
Secretary  of  the  Navy  ;  James  Wilson,  of  Iowa,  Secretary  of 
Agriculture  ;  James  A.  Gary,  of  Maryland,  Postmaster  General, 
and  Joseph  McKenna,  of  California,  Attorney  General.  On 
December  17,  1897,  Attorney  General  McKenna  resigned,  to 
accept  the  position  of  Associate  Justice  of  the  United  States 
Supreme  Court,  and  President  McKinley  appointed  John  W. 
Griggs,  of  New  Jersey,  Attorney  General,  January,  21,  1897. 

PASSAGE  OF  DINGLEY  TARIFF  BILL, 

He  called  an  extra  session  of  Congress  to  assemble  March 
15,  1897,  and  the  Dingley  Tariff  bill  was  passed  and  became  a 
law.  On  May  17,  he  sent  to  Congress  a  special  message  asking 
for  an  appropriation  for  the  aid  of  suffering  American  citizens 
in  Cuba  and  secured  $50,000  for  that  purpose.  The  Administra- 
tion was  represented  at  foreign  courts  as  follows  :  Ambassador 
to  Great  Britain,  John  Hay,  of  Ohio,  succeeded  in  1899  by  Joseph 
H.Choate,  of  New  York  ;  to  France,  Horace  Porter,  of  New  York  ; 
to  Austria  and  Austria-Hungary,  Charlemagne  Tower,  of  Penn- 
sylvania, succeeded  in  1899  by  Addison  C.  Harris,  of  Indiana  ; 
United  States  Minister  to  Russia,  Kthan  A.  Hitchcock,  of 
Missouri,  raised  to  Ambassador  in  1898,  and  succeeded  in  1899 
by  Charlemagne  Tower ;  Ambassador  to  Germany,  Andrew  D. 
White,  of  New  York;  Ambassador  to  Icaly,  William  F.  Draper, 
of  Massachusetts,  succeeded  in  1901  by  George  Von  L.  Meyer,  of 
Massachusetts  ;  Ambassador  to  Spain,  Stewart  L-.  Woodford,  of 
New  York,  who  served  until  official  relations  were  broken  off  in 
April,  1898  ;  he  was  succeeded  by  Bellamy  Storey  of  Ohio. 


96  GRAND    MILITARY  AND   CIVIL   RECORD. 

The  changes  in  President  McKinley's  Cabinet  were  the 
resignation  of  John  Sherman  from  the  State  Department,  April 
27,  1898,  and  the  promotion  of  William  R.  Day,  Assistant  Secre- 
tary of  State,  who  resigned  September  16,  1898,  and  was  suc- 
ceeded by  John  Hay,  recalled  from  the  Court  of  St.  James  ;  the 
resignation  of  General  Russel  A.  Alger  from  the  War  Depart- 
ment, August  i,  1899,  and  the  appointment  of  Elihu  Root,  of 
New  York,  as  his  successor  ;  the  resignation  of  Cornelius  N. 
Bliss  from  the  Interior  Department,  December  22,  1898,  to  be 
succeeded  by  Ethan  A.  Hitchcock,  recalled  from  St.  Petersburg ; 
the  resignation  of  James  A.  Gary  from  the  Postoffice  Department 
and  the  appointment  of  Charles  Emory  Smith,  of  Pennsylvania, 
to  that  office,  and  the  resignation  of  John  W.  Griggs  from  the 
office  of  Attorney  General  in  March,  1901,  to  be  succeeded  by 
Philander  Chase  Knox,  of  Pennsylvania. 

SYMPATHY  FOR  CUBAN   PATRIOTS. 

The  treatment  of  the  Cuban  patriots  struggling  for  freedom 
aroused  the  sympathy  of  the  people  of  the  United  States  and  the 
demands  of  the  United  States  Minister  at  Madrid  for  more 
humane  treatment  were  disregarded.  The  destruction  of  the 
United  States  cruiser  "  Maine  "  in  Havana  harbor,  February  15, 
1898,  resulting  in  the  death  of  266  United  States  officers  and  men 
and  the  wounding  of  69  others,  aggravated  the  condition  of 
affairs,  and  on  March  7,  1898,  Congress  authorized  the  raising  of 
two  new  regiments  of  artillery  ;  voted  $50,000,000  for  national 
defences,  placing  the  amount  in  the  hands  of  the  President  for 
disposal  at  his  discretion,  and  authorized  the  contingent 
increase  of  the  army  to  100,000  men. 

On  April  13,  1898,  Congress  gave  the  President  full  authority 
to  act  in  the  matter  of  the  difficulties  with  Spain,  and  on  the  i6th 
passed  a  resolution  acknowledging  Cuban  independence.  The 
President  signed  the  joint  resolutions  declaring  the  people  of 
Cuba  free,  and  directing  the  President  to  use  the  land  and  naval 
forces  of  the  United  States  to  compel  Spain  to  withdraw  from  the 
island.  At  noon,  April  21,  1898,  war  was  declared  against  Spain, 


PRESIDENT    McKINLEY 
fROM   HIS  LATENT   PHOTOGRAPH 


03 


JAMES    B.    PARKER 

THIS  IS  THE  COLORED  WAITER  WHO  IS  SAID  TO 
HAVE  SEIZED  THE  ASSASSIN  OF  PRESIDENT  McKIN- 
LEY.  PARKER  MADE  A  LARGE  SUM  OF  MONEY  BY 
SELLING  HIS  PHOTOGRAPHS- 


2 
O 

h 

o 

z 

E 

10 


GRAND   MILITARY  AND  CIVIL  RECORD.  97 

and  on  the  23d  a  call  for  125,000  volunteers  was  issued.  On  April 
30,  Congress  authorized  an  issue  of  $500,000,000  in  bonds,  which 
issue  was  speedily  taken  up  by  popular  subscription.  In  his 
proclamation  of  April  26,  1898,  the  President  adopted  the  essential 
principles  as  laid  down  by  the  declaration  of  Paris,  1856,  although 
neither  the  United  States  nor  Spain  was  a  party  to  the  agreement 
between  the  nations  as  to  the  rights  of  neutrals  in  naval  warfare. 
The  victory  of  the  United  States  navy  in  destroying  the 
Spanish  fleet  at  Manilla  on  May  i,  1898,  followed  by  the  still 
more  decisive  victor}^  over  the  Spanish  fleet  at  Santiago,  Cuba, 
Jiily  3,1898  ,  marked  the  beginning  and  end  of  the  war,  the  other 
incidents  of  the  campaign  of  historic  import  being  the  battle  of 
El  Caney  and  San  Juan,  where,  on  July  1-2,  1898,  the  United 
States  army  lost  230  killed,  1284  wounded  and  79  missing,  and 
gained  a  decisive  victory  over  the  Spanish  troops.  On  July  26, 
the  French  Minister  at  Washington  made  known  the  desire  of 
Spain  to  negotiate  for  peace,  and  President  McKinley  named  the 
conditions  that  the  United  States  would  insist  upon  as  a  basis  of 

negotiations. 

CONDITIONS    OF   PEACE. 

These  included  the  evacuation  of  Cuba,  the  ceding  of  Porto 
Rico  and  other  Spanish  Islands  in  the  West  Indies,  and  that  the 
city,  bay  and  harbor  of  Manila  should  be  continued  in  the  posses- 
sion of  the  United  States  pending  the  conclusion  of  the  treaty.  A 
protocol  was  signed  on  August  12  by  Secretary  Day  and  the 
French  Ambassador,  M.  Cambon,  and  October  i  following  was 
named  as  the  time  for  the  meeting  to  arrange  the  terms  of  peace. 
On  August  26  the  President  appointed  William  R.  Day,  Cushman 
K.  Davis,  William  P.  Frye,  Whitelaw  Reid  and  Edward  D.  White 
Peace  Commissioners,  and  on  September  9,  George  Gray  was  sub- 
stituted for  Mr.  Justice  White. 

They  met  in  Paris  October  i,  and  adjourned  December,  10, 
1898.  The  treaty  as  signed  on  the  latter  date  provided  that 
Spain  relinquish  all  claim  of  sovereignty  over  and  title  to  Cuba, 
the  surrender  of  all  other  of  the  West  India  islands  held  by 
Spain  and  the  Island  of  Guam,  in  the  Ladrone  group,  and  the 


&S  GRAND   MILITARY  AND   CIVIL   RECORD. 

cession  of  the  Philippines  to  tne  United  States.  The  United 
States  agreed  to  pay  to  Spain  the  sum  of  $20,000, ooo,  to  repatriate 
all  Spanish  soldiers  at  its  expense  and  various  minor  provisions. 
On  January  4,  1899,  the  President  transmitted  the  treaty  to  the 
Senate,  which  body  referred  it  to  the  Committee  on  Foreign 
Affairs,  and  it  was  ratified  December  6,  1899. 

OUTBREAK  OF  WAR  IN  THE  PHILIPPINES. 

Meantime  hostilities  had  broken  out  in  the  Philippine 
Islands  between  the  natives  and  the  United  States  troops,  and  the 
President  appointed  Admiral  George  Dewey,  General  Hlwell  S. 
Otis,  J.  G.  Schurman,  President  of  Cornell  University  ;  Dean  C. 
Worcester,  of  the  Faculty  of  the  University  of  Michigan,  and 
Charles  Denby,  former  United  States  Minister  to  China,  a  Com- 
mission to  study  the  situation  there  and  advise  as  to  its  settle- 
ment. The  President  also  appointed  a  delegation  to  represent 
the  United  States  at  the  Peace  Conference  called  by  the  Czar  of 
Russia  in  1898  to  meet  at  the  Hague  in  May,  1899.  The  delega- 
tion was.  made  up  of  the  United  States  Ambassador  to  Germany, 
Andrew  D.  White;  the  United  States  Minister  to  Holland, 
Stanford  Nevil ;  the  President  of  Columbia  University,  Seth 
Ivow  ;  Captain  A.  T.  Mahan,  U.  S.  N.  (retired),  and  Captain 
William  Crozier,  U.  S.  N.,  with  Frederick  W.  Holls  as  Secretary 
and  counsel. 

When  the  Republican  National  Convention  met  at  Phil- 
adelphia, June  25,  1900,  President  McKinley  received  every  one  of 
the  930  votes  of  the  delegates  for  renomination  as  the  party  can- 
didate for  President,  and  Theodore  Roosevelt,  of  New  York, 
received  929  votes  for  the  candidacy  for  Vice  President,  the  single 
vote  missing  being  the  delegate  vote  of  the  candidate.  In  the 
election  of  November  6,  1903,  the  Republican  Electors  received 
7,206,677  popular  votes,  to  6,374,397  for  the  Bryan  and  Stevenson 
Klectors,  the  popular  votes  for  the  minority  candidates  standing 
as  follows  :  Woolley  and  Metcalf,  Prohibiton,  208.555  ;  Barker  and 
Donnelly,  Anti-Fusion  People's,  50,337  ;  Debs  and  Harriman, 
Social  Democrat,  84,003  ;  Maloney  and  Remmell,  Socialist  Labor, 


GRAND   MILITARY  AND   CIVIL  RECORD.  ®) 

39)537  j  Leonard  and  Wooley,  United  Christian,  1060,  and  Ellis 
and  Nichols,  Union  Reform,  5698.  The  electoral  vote  stood  292 
for  McKinley  and  Roosevelt  and  155  for  Bryan  and  Stevenson. 
The  successful  Republican  candidates  were  inaugurated  March  4, 
1901,  and  the  President  made  no  immediate  changes  in  his 
Cabinet. 

He  visited  California  with  his  wife  and  members  of  his 
cabinet  in  1901,  and  intended  to  make  the  tour  extend  to  the 
principal  cities  of  the  Pacific  slope,  but  the  serious  illness  of 
Mrs.  McKinley  forced  him  to  return  to  Washington  after  reaching 
San  Francisco. 

VISIT  TO  PAN-AMERICAN  EXPOSITION. 

On  September  4,  1901,  he  visited  the  Pan-American  Exposi- 
tion, at  Buffalo,  N.  Y.,  and  made  a  notable  speech  in  which  he 
outlined  the  policy  to  be  pursued  by  the  Administration  in  main- 
taining and  increasing  the  commercial  prosperity  of  the  nation, 
and  on  September  6  he  held  a  public  reception  in  the  Temple  of 
Music,  to  which  the  citizens  of  Buffalo  and  visitors  to  the  Expo- 
sition gathered  in  great  numbers.  In  the  course  of  the  reception, 
about  4  o'clock  P.  M.,  one  of  the  visitors,  while  shaking  his  hand, 
shot  him  twice,  one  ball  striking  the  breast  bone  and  one  entering 
the  stomach. 

The  would-be  assassin  was  at  once  captured  and  proved  to  be 
Leon  Czolgosz,  an  avowed  Anarchist.  President  McKinley  was  a 
member  of  the  Grand  Army  of  the  Republic,  the  Union  Veteran 
Legion  and  other  military  organizations.  He  received  the 
honorary  degree  of  LL.  D.  from  Western  Reserve  University 
and  McKendree  College  in  1897,  fr°m  the  University  of  Chicago 
and  Yale  University  in  1898,  from  Smith  College  in  1899,  being 
the  second  person  and  the  first  man  to  receive  an  honorary  degree 
from  that  institution,  and  from  the  University  of  California  in 
1901,  and  that  of  D.  C.  L.  from  Mt.  Hoi  yoke  in  1899. 

He  was  invited  to  visit  Harvard  University  in  June,  1901, 
and  the  Corporation  voted  him  the  honorary  degree  of  LL.D.,  to 
be  bestowed  on  the  occasion,  but  the  serious  illness  of  Mrs. 


100  GRAND   MILITARY  AND   CIVIL  RECORD. 

McKmley  prevented  his  presence.  The  notable  speeches  deliv- 
ered by  Mr.  McKinley,  and  not  already  mentioned,  include  the 
address  in  Canton,  O.,  before  the  Ohio  State  Grange,  December 
13,  1887,  on  "The  American  Farmer,"  in  which  he  opposed  the 
holding  of  American  lands  by  aliens,  and  urged  the  farmers  to 
be  true  to  the  principles  of  protection  ;  the  address  at  the  Home 
Market  Club,  in  Boston,  February  9,  1888,  in  which  he  persuaded 
the  New  Bngland  representatives  to  abandon  the  policy  of  "  free 
raw  material ;"  the  speech  at  the  Lincoln  banquet,  in  Toledo,  O., 
February  12,  1891,  in  which  he  answered  President  Cleveland's 
address  on  "American  Citizenship,"  delivered  on  the  occasion  of 
the  seventieth  anniversary  of  the  birthday  of  Allen  G.  Thurman, 
at  Columbus,  O.,  November  13,  1890,  and  the  oration  delivered 
on  February  22,  1894,  before  the  Union  League  Club,  Chicago, 
111.,  on  the  life  and  public  services  of  George  Washington. 

GLOWING  TRIBUTE  TO  M'KINLEY. 

One  of  our  prominent  journals  pays  the  following  worthy 
tribute  to  the  late  President : 

"When  the  sun  went  down  on  Thursday  evening  the  popular 
belief  was  as  confident  as  it  was  general  that  the  President  had 
crossed  the  danger  line  to  the  side  of  safety,  and  there  was  a 
universal  feeling  of  felicitation  engendered  by  the  medical 
bulletins,  which  gave  assurances  of  not  only  the  illustrious 
patient's  recovery,  but  of  his  speedy  convalescence  and  early 
return  to  his  accustomed  vigor.  /" 

u  The  first  announcement  of  the  change  in  the  President's 
previously  favorable  condition  was  made  by  his  medical  advisers 
in  their  bulletin  at  8.30  P.  M..,  Thursday,  although  the  previous 
one,  which  was  issued  at  3  P.  M.,  stating  his  pulse  to  be  126, 
gave  the  better  informed  few  reasons  for  apprehension.  The  8.30 
bulletin  was  received  at  too  late  an  hour  on  Thursday  to  reach  the 
general  public,  who  did  not  hear  of  the  relapse  which  the  patient 
had  suffered  until  they  read  the  next  morning's  papers. 

"  The  shock  caused  by  this  intelligence  to  the  country  was 
not  less,  and,  we  believe,  it  was  even  greater,  than  that  which 


GRAND   MILITARY  AND   CIVIL  RECORD.  101 

told  of  the  attempted  assassination  of  the  6th  instant.  Although 
the  medical  bulletins  had  been  invariably  favorable,  it  was 
observed,  and  will  be  now  remembered,  that  none  of  them,  hopeful 
as  all  were,  gave  positive  assurances  that  the  President  would 
recover  from  his  wounds.  But  the  trend  of  every  statement  made 
by  his  physicians  was  in  the  direction  which  the  country  wished  it  to 
be,  and  as  the  days  went  by  and  the  indications  improved  it  came 
to  be  commonly  believed  that  all  danger  of  an  untoward  result 
had  passed,  and  that  the  President  would  soon  be  again  at  his  post 
of  duty. 

"  It  was  that  confident  belief  so  generally  entertained  which 
rendered  Thursday  night's  report  of  the  President's  changed  con- 
dition so  serious  a  shock  and  distress  to  his  countrymen.  Since 
he  was  stricken  down  the  popular  mind  has  been  better  informed 
as  to  Mr.  McKinley's  real  character,  and  as  this  more  accurate 
knowledge  respecting  him  spread  abroad,  the  sympathy  of  his 
countrymen  became  the  greater  and  more  profound. 

CROWDS  WAITING  FOR  BULLETINS. 

"  The  truth  of  this  was  made  apparent  yesterday,  from  early 
morning  till  a  very  late  hour  of  the  night,  by  the  crowds  which 
assembled  in  front  of  the  newspaper  offices  and  at  all  points  where 
the  latest  news  from  the  President's  bedside  could  be  obtained. 
The  public  anxiety,  concern  and  sorrow  were  more  generally  exhib- 
ited yesterday  than  at  any  previous  time  since  the  assassin's  shots 
were  fired.  The  feeling  shown  suggested  that  each  and  all  of  the 
President's  countrymen  felt  that  they  were  about  to  suffer  a  per- 
sonal sorrow  and  were  confronted  by  a  personal  calamity. 

"The  people  perceive  now  more  clearly  than  they  ever  before 
did  the  simple  worth  and  exalted  patriotism  of  their  President. 
Awed  by  the  shadow  of  death  in  which  he  has  lain  during  the 
past  week,  partisan  detraction,  rancor  and  misrepresentation  were 
silent,  and  from  all  parts  of  his  country,  from  the  organs  of  all 
parties  and  factions,  earnest  tribute  has  been  paid  to  the  Presi- 
dent's virtues,  his  life  and  character. 

"  Our  high  appreciation  of  the  kindly,  friendly  nature  of  Presi- 


102  GRAND   MILITARY  AND   CIVIL  RECORD. 

dent  McKinley,  his  elevated  spirit  of  patriotism,  his  wish  to  be 
right  and  do  right,  to  temper  justice  with  mercy,  was  expressed  in 
this  place  immediately  after  the  assassin's  murderous  attack  upon 
his  life.  There  is  but  little  to  add  to  that  tribute  of  respect  and 
admiration  for  the  nation's  Chief  Magistrate,  who,  having  served 
it  so  faithfully  in  that  great  office,  received  his  fatal  wound  at  his 
post  in  the  discharge  of  a  duty. 

"  That  they  appreciated  his  devotion  to  their  interests  and 
welfare  has  been  clearly  and  most  gratifyingly  shown  from  the 
very  hour  that  he  was  stricken  down,  and  seldom  has  popular 
admiration  and  the  affectionate  regard  of  a  people  for  their  ruler 
been  more  commonly  or  convincingly  exhibited  than  were  the 
admiration  and  regard  shown  yesterday  by  the  American  people 
their  honored  ruler. 


A  NATIONAL  CALAMITY. 

u  The  demise  of  a  President  of  the  United  States  is  always  a 
sad  and  deplorable  event,  but  when  death  comes  to  him  at  the 
hand  of  the  assassin  the  eventbecom.es  sadder  and  more  deplorable. 
The  blow  struck  at  his  life  is  struck  at  the  very  vitals  of  free  gov- 
ernment, which  makes  the  ruler  the  people's  first  and  best  found 
choice,  and  which  makes  each  sovereign  citizen  his  personal  de- 
fender. When  a  blow  is  struck  at  the  life  of  the  nation's  Chief 
Magistrate  the  whole  people  feel  the  hurt  of  it  and  suffer  the  grief 
and  pain  of  its  consequences. 

"  President  McKinley  lies  dead,  and  the  whole  nation  mourns 
the  death  of  a  ruler,  who  became,  the  longer  he  ruled,  more  homored 
and  esteemed  by  his  countrymen,  who  wisely  chose  him  to  rule 
over  them.  He  died  as  he  lived,  in  high  faith  in  God,  submissive 
to  His  awful  will,  reverently  saying  with  his  departing  breath  : 
'God's  will,  not  ours,  be  done.' 

"The  Old  World  and  the  New,  from  sea  to  sea, 

Utter  one  voice  of  sympathy  arjd  shame  ! 
A  deed  accurst  !  Strokes  have  been  struck  before 

By  the  assassin's  hand,  whereof  men  doubt 
If  more  of  horror  or  disgrace  they  bore  ; 

But  thy  foul  crime,  like  Cain's,  stands  darkly  out" 


GRAND   MILITARY  AND  CIVIL  RECORD.  *v» 

Another  leading  journal  thus  eulogizes  Mr.  McKinley  : 
"The  President  is  dead.  No  words  can  add  and  none  can 
speak  the  loss  to  a  land  which  for  the  third  time  in  our  day  stands 
by  the  bier  of  a  President  slain.  Death  lifts  all  to  a  new  light 
and  a  new  place  in  the  hearts  of  men.  Nor  less  with  the  great 
man  gone.  He  had  all  that  can  come  to  the  sons  of  men,  He 
fought  for  his  land  in  his  youth.  He  early  won  Its  wide  praise. 
He  shared  through  all  his  mid  and  active  years  in  its  greater 
work.  Twice  he  was  called  to  be  its  head. 

"  This  without — and  within  in  that  hid  life  which  to  all  men, 
high  or  low,  is  more  than  all  else  on  earth,  he  was  blessed. 
Early  loved  and  early  wed,  through  long  years,  with  all  they 
brought  of  joy  and  grief,  and  the  daily  strain  of  illness  for  the 
woman  who  to-day  faces  life's  greatest  sorrow,  he  wore  the  stain- 
less flower  of  perfect  and  undivided  love.  He  died  as  men  both 
brave  and  good  can — his  face  turned  fearless  to  the  great  future 
in  which  he  saw  and  knew  the  divine  love  which  had  guided  all 
his  days. 

THE  WORLD  MADE  RICHER. 

"  The  annals  of  men  through  all  time  are  the  richer  for  this 
high  record  of  a  stainless  life  and  his  land  is  left  poor  by  the  loss 
of  its  first  and  foremost  son.  Round  the  world  runs  the  shadow 
of  eclipsing  grief  as  flags  drop  and  the  nations  feel  a  common  sor- 
row which  knows  bounds  as  little  as  his  name  and  fame.  All 
things  pass.  He  with  them.  But  there  remains  one  more 
memory  of  a  good  man  grown  great,  dead  at  the  post  of  duty,  to 
breathe  hope  and  give  strength  to  all  who,  like  him,  make  their 
land  the  heart's  first  desire  and  know  that  its  first  high  service  is 
the  good  life  and  pure.  He  joins  the  triad  of  martyred  Presidents. 
One  slain  by  rebellion,  one  by  partisan  rancor  and  one  by  the 
baser  passions  of  corroding  envy  and  a  hand  raised  against  all 
law,  all  rule  and  all  government. 

"  The  spirit  of  rebellion  was  buried  with  Lincoln.  The  grave 
of  Garfield  is  the  perpetual  reminder  of  the  risks  of  party  hate. 
It  will  be  the  duty  of  those  who  live  and,  in  all  posts  and  places, 
in  all  ranks  and  work,  serve  the  land  he  loved  and  made  greater, 


104  GRAND   MILITARY  AND   CIVIL   RECORD. 

tp  see  to  it  that  his  death  is  the  end  of  the  creed  and  speech  which 
cost  the  nation  its  President.  There  must  be  an  end  in  his  grave 
of  all  the  envy,  malice  and  hatred  of  the  advance,  progress  and 
success  of  men,  which  is  the  seed  and  root  of  anarchy,  and  which 
daily  seeks  to  set  citizen  against  citizen." 

When  the  news  of  Lincoln's  assassination  was  filling  with 
fear  and  apprehension  a  nation  just  saved  from  disruption  and 
it  seemed  as  if  the  foundation  of  society  had  vanished  and  the 
pillars  of  order  had  fallen  it  remained  for  General  Garfield  to  call 
the  people  back  to  first  principles. 

The  memorable  speech  he  made  in  New  York  city  on  that 
April  morning  in  1865,  when  Lincoln  lay  dead  from  an  assassin's 
bu'net,  will  never  be  forgotten.  Said  he  to  the  throng  as  it 
surged  about  him,  smitten  with  sorrow,  anger  and  fear :  "  God 
reigns  and  the  Government  at  Washington  still  lives.'* 

GARFIELD'S  IMMORTAL  WORDS. 

It  was  the  irony  of  fate  that  the  man  who  uttered  these 
words  should  himself  be  the  chief  actor  in  another  tragedy  that, 
for  a  moment,  almost  paralyzed  the  nation  again,  and  that  his 
words  should  again  help  to  recall  it  to  its  senses.  "God  reigned 
and  the  Government  at  Washington  still  lived." 

A  third  time  the  nation  is  called  upon  to  meet  a  similar 
crisis.  A  President  beloved  beyond  the  lot  of  most  men  lies 
dead  by  the  hand  of  the  assassin,  and  the  nation  is  a  third  time 
almost  paralyzed  by  grief  and  anger.  But  great  and  irreparable 
as  the  loss  of  William  McKinley  is,  it  is  well  now  to  remember 
the  words  of  General  Garfield  :  "  God  reigns  and  the  Government 
at  Washington  still  lives." 

No  man  who  knows  where  history  has  ranked  and  placed 
other  Presidents  can  doubt  that  McKinley  will  stand  among  those 
few  chiefs  of  the  nation  whose  life  and  death  close  and  open  an 
epoch.  Assassination  will  give  his  death  the  hallowed  associa- 
tion of  maityrdom,  but  this  alone  would  not  suffice  for  his  future 
place  if  he  had  not  been  called  in  his  administration  as  President 
to  see  the  end  of  one  era  and  the  beginning  of  another. 


GRAND   MILITARY  AND   CIVIL  RECORD.  105 

History  will  remember  and  record  what  his  day  and  time 
have  often  forgotten,  that,  as  with  our  two  greatest  Presidents, 
his  life  was  made  and  molded,  not  by  his  personal  career,  but  by 
the  nation's  development.  Washington  began  life  a  mere  back- 
woods partisan  leader  in  Indian  warfare  and  ended  his  public  life 
the  President  of  a  new  nation,  its  face  turned  toward  the  conquest 
of  a  continent.  Lincoln,  the  rail-splitter,  was  early  but  one  of 
the  pioneers  who  first  filled  the  West  with  freemen  and  later  led 
these  freemen  to  leave  no  man  a  slave  in  the  land  for  which  he 
died. 

So  William  McKinley  had  his  early  and  youthful  share  in 
the  sanguinary  civil  war,  establishing  a  free  industrial  system, 
When  this  task  was  over  he  shared  also  in  that  patient  internal 
development  of  national  resources  of  protection,  education,  and 
honest  money,  which  ended  in  the  overflowing  foreign  trade  oi 
the  past  six  years,  and  that  miracle  and  marvel  of  expansion 
when  the  Republic  first  set  its  victorious  feet  on  lands  beyond 

the  sea. 

CROWN  OF  HIS  LIFE  WORK. 

The  lofty  speech  delivered  the  day  before  he  was  shot,  the 
unconscious  blessing  and  prophecy  of  a  leader  of  his  people  spoken 
as  the  shadow  of  death  drew  near  on  the  dial,  was  the  crown,  cul- 
mination and  completion  of  his  life  work.  He  was  barely  a  voter 
when  he  laid  down  the  military  commission  of  the  nation  to  accept 
the  first  civil  commission  of  his  neighbors.  By  his  early  training, 
by  temperament,  by  the  industries  of  his  district  and  the  political 
geography  which  put  him  on  the  dividing  line  between  the  East 
and  the  West,  he  was  set  apart  to  the  work  of  directing,  defending, 
'conserving  and  consolidating  the  nation's  growth  and  progress  in 
the  appointed  path  of  national  development. 

On  all  questions  and  issues  he,  beyond  his  contemporaries, 
united  a  knowledge  of  the  convictions  of  the  Bast  and  the  needs 
and  demands  of  the  West.  On  protection  he  stood  alike  for  the 
manufacturer  and  the  farmer.  On  the  currency  he  labored  steadily 
to  prevent  a  division  between  the  sound  money  vote  Bast  and  West 
which  would  have  periled  all,  and  whatever  criticism  of  his  course 


106  GRAND   MILITARY  AND   CIVIL  RECORD. 

the  hour  may  have  bred,  history  and  the  issue  have  alike  justified 
his  policy  and  position. 

In  all  these  things  and  at  every  juncture  he  displayed  the 
saving  sense  of  success.  The  day  never  came  when  he  was  not 
more  clearly  and  closely  aware  than  any  contemporary  of  the  de- 
sires, the  purpose  and  the  wish  of  the  great  hody  of  his  fellow- 
citizens.  He  knew  them.  They  trusted  him.  His  confidence  in 
free  institutions  and  in  the  prescient  sagacity  of  the  American 
voter  never  wavered.  No  man  in  our  day  was  so  near  the  people. 
No  man  so  reflected  the  cheerful  optimism,  the  good-humored 
courage,  the  hopeful  opportunism  and  the  resolute  determination 
and  industry  of  the  average  American  as  he.  This  personal  en- 
dowment, experience  and  insight  gave  him  a  power,  clearer  in  the 
last  ten  years  than  ever  before,  of  speaking  level  to  the  compre- 
hension, direct  to  the  hearts  and  straight  to  the  conviction  of  his 
fellow-countrymen.  No  man  in  our  recent  day  has  so  influenced 
their  opinion. 

READY  FOR  EVERY  GREAT  DEMAND. 

When  the  great  service  of  his  life  and  the  crowning  crisis  of 
is  career  came  and  war  had  brought  new  duties  and  unforeseen 
responsibilities  he  was  ready.  He  knew  the  secret  heart  and 
inner  purpose  of  the  land  he  ruled  and  the  people  he  loved. 
Resolutely,  without  haste  but  without  hesitation,  he  led  the 
nation  to  its  new  place  among  the  nations  of  the  earth.  He 
accepted  the  responsibility  of  momentous  advance  in  the  world 
relations  of  the  United  States.  He  neither  spurned  precedent 
nor  was  he  spurred  by  novelty.  He  saw,  as  history  will  see,  in 
the  greater  acts  of  his  administration,  the  unfolding  of  a  past 
which  made  the  present  necessary  and  inevitable. 

In  this  great,  unforeseen  and  successful  task  the  purity  of 
his  character,  his  visible  loyalty  to  American  ideals,  his  power  in 
winning  opposition,  his  sincerity,  the  charm  of  his  personality  and 
his  unaffected  regard  and  love  for  all  his  fellow-citizens,  enabled 
him  to  carry  the  people  with  him  and  with  his  view  of  national 
duty,  without  regard  to  section  or  party. 


GRAND   MILITARY  AND   CIVIL   RECORD.  107 

He  had  borne  his  share  of  detraction.  He  had  known  what 
it  was  to  be  wilfully  traduced  and  to  face  partisan  rancor.  To 
all  his  fellow-citizens,  the  last  fond  tribute  laid  on  his  bier  was 
the  precious  consciousness  that  he  had  outlived  and  overlived  all 
this.  He  died  loved  by  all,  and  knowing  that  he  was  loved  by 
all  that  the  Union  which  he  had  fought  as  a  boy  to  save  he, 
more  than  any  other  President,  had  made  a  "  more  perfect  Union  " 
of  tiie  hearts  of  the  American  people. 


CHAPTER   V. 

Incidents  in  President  McKinley's  Career — Gallant  Exploits 
on  the  Field  of  Battle— Daring  Feat  at  Antietam — 
Always  True  to  His  Pledge. 

THB  boy,  who  afterward  became  President,  was  originally  in- 
tended for  the  ministry,  and  it  was  said  that  his  mother  confi- 
dently looked  forward  to  his  becoming  a  bishop.  Probably  he  would 
have  realized  her  ambition  had  not  fate  willed  that  he  should 
become  a  lawyer.  He  received  his  first  education  at  the  public 
schools  of  Niles.  When  he  was  nine  years  old  the  family 
removed  to  Poland,  Ohio,  a  place  noted  in  the  State  for  its  educa- 
tional advantages. 

Here  William  was  placed  in  Union  Seminary,  where  he  pur- 
sued his  studies  until  he  was  seventeen,  when  he  entered  the 
junior  class,  and  could  easily  have  graduated  the  next  year,  but 
that  unremitting  application  to  study  undermined  his  health,  and 
he  was  forced  to  return  home.  At  these  institutions  he  had  been 
especially  proficient  in  mathematics  and  the  languages,  and  was 
acknowledged  to  be  the  best  debater  in  the  literary  societies.  Ho 
had  early  manifested  strong  religious  traits,  had  joined  the 
Methodist  Church  at  the  age  of  sixteen  and  had  been  notably 
diligent  in  Scriptural  study. 

As  soon  as  he  sufficiently  recovered  his  health  he  became  a 
teacher  in  the  public  schools  in  the  Kerr  district,  near  Poland. 
At  the  outbreak  of  the  Civil  War  he  was  a  clerk  in  the  Poland 
post  office.  At  a  war  meeting  convened  in  the  Sparrow  tavern 
he  was  one  of  a  number  of  boys  who  was  so  fired  by  the 
patriotic  enthusiasm  of  the  occasion  that  they  promptly  stepped 
forward  and  enrolled  their  names  as  intended  volunteers  in  the 
Union  army. 

Proceeding  with  them  to  Columbus,  William  McKinley  en- 
listed as  a  private  in  Company  B,  of  the  Twenty-third  Ohio 

108 


INCIDENTS  IN  THE  LIFE  OF  McKINLEY.  109 

Volunteer  Infantry,  June  n,  1861.  This  company  was  destined 
to  become  one  of  the  most  famous  in  the  war.  Its  field  and  staff 
included  William  S.  Rosecrac  s,  Rutherford  B.  Hayes,  Stanley 
Matthews  and  others  who  aftei  *vard  achieved  eminence  in  military 
or  civil  life.  It  was  engaged  ;  a  nineteen  battles  and  of  its  total 
rank  and  file  of  2,095  men,  i(  9  were  killed  in  battle  and  107  died 
of  wounds  or  disease.  Des  ite  the  hardships,  privations  and 
perils  to  which  he  was  expos  d,  his  constitution  gained  in  health 
and  strength  during  his  foui  years'  service.  He  participated  in 
all  the  early  engagements  ij .  West  Virginia. 

His  first  promotion,  to  commissary  sergeant,  occurred  April 
15,  1862.  As  Rutherford  8.  Hayes  afterward  said :  "  We  soon 
found  that  in  business  and  executive  ability  he  was  of  rare 
capacity,  of  unusual  and  unsurpassing  capacity,  for  a  boy  of  his 
age.  When  battles  were  fought,  or  a  service  was  to  be  performed 
in  warlike  things,  he  always  took  his  place.  When  I  became 
commander  of  the  regiment,  he  soon  came  to  be  on  my  staff,  and 
he  remained  on  my  staff  for  one  or  two  years,  so  that  I  did, 
literally  and  in  fact,  know  him  like  a  book  and  love  him  like  a 

brother." 

HOT  WORK  AT  ANTIETAM. 

The  company  was  with  McClellan  when  they  drove  the 
enemy  out  of  Frederick,  Md.,  and,  on  September  T4th  and  lyth, 
engaged  them  at  South  Mountain  and  at  Antietam.  In  the  latter 
battle  Sergeant  McKinley,  in  charge  of  the  commissary  depart- 
ment of  his  brigade,  performed  a  notable  deed  of  daring  at  the 
crisis  of  the  battle,  when  it  was  uncertain  which  way  victory 
would  turn.  McKinley  fitted  two  wagons  with  necessary  sup- 
plies and  drove  them  through  a  storm  of  shells  and  bullets  to  the 
assistance  of  his  hungry  and  thirsty  fellow  soldiers.  The  mules 
of  one  wagon  were  disabled,  but  McKinley  drove  the  other 
safely  through  and  was  received  with  hearty  cheers.  "From 
Sergeant  McKinley's  hand,"  said  President  Hayes,  "every  man 
in  the  regiment  was  served  with  hot  coffee  and  warm  meats,  a 
thing  which  had  never  occurred  under  similar  circumstances  in 
any  other  army  in  the  world. " 


110  INCIDENTS   IN   THE   LIFE  OF   McKINLEY. 

For  this  feat  he  was  promoted  to  lieutenant,  September  24, 
1862. 

A  greater  exploit  was  that  which  he  performed  at  the  battle 
of  Kernstown,  near  Winchescer,  July  24,  1864,  when  he  rode  his 
horse,  on  a  forlorn  hope,  through  a  fierce  Confederate  fire,  to 
carry  Hayes'  orders  to  Colonel  William  Brown,  and  thus  extri- 
cated that  officer's  command,  the  Thirteenth  West  Virginia,  from 
a  perilous  position. 

On  July  25th  following  he  was  promoted  to  be  captain,  and 
on  March  14,  1865,  received  from  the  President  a  document  which 
he  valued  above  all  the  other  papers  in  his  possession.  This  was 
a  commission  as  major  by  brevet  in  the  Volunteer  United  States 
Army  "  for  gallant  and  meritorious  services  at  the  battles  of 
Opequan,  Cedar  Creek  and  Fisher's  Hill,"  signed  "A.  Lincoln." 
This  was  just  a  month  before  the  assassination  of  the  latter.  On 
June  26,  1865,  he  was  mustered  out  with  his  regiment,  and  re- 
turned to  Poland,  with  the  record  of  having  been  present  and 
active  in  every  engagement  in  which  his  regiment  had  partici- 
pated, and  in  performing  with  valor  and  judgment  every  duty 
assigned  to  him. 

ADMITTED  TO  THE  BAR. 

He  at  once  began  the  study  of  the  law,  first  in  the  office  of 
Lrlidden  &  Wilson,  at  Youngstown,  Ohio,  and  afterward  at  the 
Law  School  in  Albany,  N.  Y.  In  March,  1867,  he  was  admitted 
to  the  bar  at  Warren,  Ohio.  He  settled  at  Canton,  which  ever 
afterward  was  his  home,  and  soon  attracted  attention  as  a 
lawyer  of  diligence,  sobriety  and  eloquence.  Though  the 
county  was  strongly  Democratic,  and  he  was  an  uncompromis- 
ing Republican,  he  was  elected  one  term  as  prosecuting  attorney. 
He  threw  himself  into  every  political  campaign  with  all  the 
energy  of  his  nature,  and  his  services  were  so  highly  valued  that 
he  spoke  more  frequently  in  his  county  and  district  than  even 
the  principal  candidates  on  the  ticket.  When  Rutherford  B.  Hayes 
ran  for  the  Governorship  of  Ohio,  against  the  Greenback  candi- 
date, Allen,  McKinley  was  an  eloquent  and  passionate  advocate 
^  honest  money  and  resumption 


INCIDENTS   IN   THE   LIFE  OF   McKlNLr.Y.  Ill 

Meanwhile,  in  1871,  he  had  married  Miss  Ida  Saxton,  a 
leading  belle  of  Poland,  Ohio.  It  was  a  love  match  in  its  incep- 
tion ;  it  remained  a  tender  and  beantifnl  idyl  to  the  very  end. 
Indeed,  no  public  man  was  ever  a  nobler  exponent  of  all  the 
domestic  virtues  than  McKinley.  His  mother  worshipped  him, 
his  wife  ^v/iized  him. 

It  was  in  1876  that  he  announced  himself  a  candidate  for 
Congress.  The  sitting  Representative,  L.  D.  Woodworth,  with 
Judge  Frease,  and  other  prominent  Republicans,  three  of  them 
from  his  own  county,  were  his  opponents  for  the  nomination. 

The  Stark  County  delegates  to  the  Congressional  Conven- 
tion were  elected  by  a  popular  vote.  McKinley  carried  every 
township  in  the  county  but  one,  and  that  had  but  a  single 
delegate.  In  the  other  counties  he  was  almost  equally  success- 
ful, and  the  primaries  gave  him  a  majority  of  the  delegates  in 
the  district.  He  was  nominated  on  the  first  ballot  over  all  the 
other  candidates. 

OLD  POLITICIANS  ASTONISHED. 

This  sudden  rise  into  prominence  and  popularity  naturally 
gave  the  old  politicians  a  shock.  Here  was  a  new  and  unknown 
factor  in  the  politics  of  the  district.  He  had  been  accorded  an 
opportunity  which  to  them  had  seemed  hopeless,  had  accepted 
and  won  recognition.  It  was  soon  discovered  that  he  had  not 
only  come  into  the  politics  of  the  district,  but  that  he  had  come 
to  stay.  For  fourteen  years  after  this  event  he  represented  the 
district  of  which  Stark  county  was  a  part ;  not  the  same  district, 
for  the  Democrats  did  not  relish  the  prominent  part  he  was 
playing  in  Congress,  and  gerrymandered  him  three  times,  the 
last  time  (in  1890)  successfully. 

The  first  attempt  to  change  his  district  was  made  as  early  as 
1878  by  the  Democrats,  who,  by  gerrymandering  the  county,  put 
him  into  a  district  that  had  1,800  Democratic  majority.  McKin- 
ley carried  it  by  1,300  votes.  In  1882  he  had  another  narrow 
escape.  It  will  be  recalled  that  1882  was  a  bad  year  for  Republicans. 
The  New  York  State  Convention  resented  President  Arthur  usinj? 


112  INCIDENTS  IN  THE  LIFE  OF  McKINLEY. 

his  influence  to  nominate  his  Secretary  of  the  Treasury,  Judge 
Folger,  for  the  Governorship  of  that  State.  The  party  was  also 
torn  up  in  Pennsylvania.  Grover  Cleveland  was  elected  Gover- 
nor over  Judge  Folger  by  a  tremendous  majority,  and  General 
Beaver  was  defeated  in  Pennsylvania  by  a  then  comparatively 
tnknown  man,  Governor  Pattison.  That  year  McKinley's  origi- 
nal district  had  been  restored,  and  he  was  seeking  a  "  third  term," 
something  not  accorded  its  Representatives.  He  had  strong 
opposition  for  the  nomination,  some  of  it  rankling  until  the  elec- 
tion, and  that,  with  the  popular  discontent  temporarily  prevailing, 
brought  his  majority  down  to  eight  votes. 

Mr.  McKinley's  congressional  career  was  marked  by  indus- 
try and  executive  ability.  He  early  showed  that  he  was  a  pro- 
nounced protectionist  of  an  extreme  sort.  In  the  theories  of 
Alexander  Hamilton  and  Henry  Clay,  which  to  those  statesmen 
seemed  fitted  only  to  temporary  conditions,  Mr.  McKinley  in 
those  days  seemed  to  read  a  permanent  policy  in  which  American 
prosperity  was  indissolubly  involved. 

UNDERSTOOD  THE  SUBJECT. 

He  had  faithfully  pursued  a  course  of  study  in  political 
economy  which  had  stored  his  retentive  memory  with  facts  and 
figures  bearing  upon  the  protectionist  side  of  the  question.  These 
bare  bones  he  reclothed  with  palpitating  flesh,  in  a  spirit  of  truly 
altruistic  and  partistic  pride,  and  in  the  firm  belief  that  he  was 
benefitting  alike  his  fellow  citizens  and  their  common  country. 
His  utter  sincerity,  the  charm  and  dignity  of  his  manner,  the 
apparent  logical  weight  of  his  arguments  and  the  simplicity  with 
which  they  were  worded  captured  his  audiences  not  only  on  the 
stump,  but  in  Congress. 

His  unfailing  courtesy  won  him  friends  even  among  those 
whom  he  could  not  convert.  A  signal  instance  happened  on  May 
18,  1888,  when  he  yielded  his  place  on  the  floor  of  the  House  to 
allow  the  moribund  Samuel  J.  Randall  to  conclude  a  speech  inter- 
rupted by  the  call  of  time. 

When,  as  a  member  of  the  Republican  National  Presidential 


INCIDENTS  IN  THE   LIFE  OF   McK-INLEY.  113 

Convention  of  1884,  he  was  placed  on  the  Committee  of  Platform, 
it  was  he  that  was  selected  to  draft  the  tariff  planks.  He  went 
to  the  Convention  as  a  Blaine  man.  Foraker  fought  desperately 
for  Sherman.  After  the  third  ballot  bad  been  taken,  and  the  hall 
was  in  confusion,  with  the  Sherman  forces  clamoring  for  adjoiirn- 
inent,  MeKinley  arose,  and  in  a  short  speech  rallied  the  Blaine 
men,  beat  the  effort  to  suspend  and  so  helped  materially  in  the 
selecting  of  his  candidate  on  the  next  ballot. 

He  emerged  from  this  convention  with  a  national  reputation. 
In  the  convention  four  years  later  he  was  a  marked  ma>n.  He 
was  now  pledged  to  Sherman.  But,  as  in  1884,  it  soon  developed 
that  the  nomination  for  Sherman  was  impossible.  A  compromise 
candidate  seemed  inevitable. 

LOUD  CHEERS  FOR  M'KINLEY. 

There'  were  whispers  of  disloyalty  even:  in  the  Ohio  delega- 
tion. Rumor  was  busy  with  McKinley's  name.  The  night 
before  the  balloting  began  he  made  the  ronnd  of  States'  head- 
quarters and  earnestly  pleaded,  even  with  tears  in  his  eyes,  that 
none  of  the  delegates  should  vote  for  him.  Next  day,  on  the 
sixth  ballot,  a  Cincinnati  delegate  disregarded  this  plea.  He 
cast  his  vote  for  McKiriley.  There  were  resounding  cheers' 
throughout  the  hall.  The  next  State  on  the  roll  cast  sixteen 
votes  for  MeKinley.  The  cheers  were  renewed  with  greater 
volume.  It  looked  as  i-£  the  scene  of  Garfield's  nomination  in 
1880  were  to  be  repeated,  and  that  the  convention  would  be 
stampeded  for  M-cKinley.  Instantly  Mr".  MeKinley  leaped  to  his 
feet.  He  made  an-  impassioned  appeal.  He  re'nvkkled  the  con- 
vention that  he  was  pledged  to  John  Sherman. 

"  I  do  not  request,  I  demand,"  he  concluded,  "  that  no  deleg'ate 
who-  would  not  cast  reflection  upon  me  shall  cast  a:  ballot  for  me.'r 

He  was  too  evidently  in  earnest  not  to  be  accepted  at  his 
word.  That  speech  turned  the  tide  to  Harrison,  who  was-  selected 
on  the  seventh  ballot. 

Some  one  told  him   afterward  that  he  had  done  as 
thing  as  ever  had  been  known  in  politics. 

8 


114  INCIDENTS  IN  THE  UF£  OF  M 

"  Is  it,  then,  so  honorable,''  was  Mr.  McKinley' s  comment, 
"  to  refrain  from  a  dishonorable  deed  ?  " 

At  the  organization  of  the  Fifty-first  Congress  Mr.  McKinley 
was  a  candidate  for  Speaker,  but,  thongh  strongly  supported,  he 
was  defeated  in  caucus  by  Thomas  B.  Reed.  Appointed  Chairman 
of  the  Ways  and  Means  Committee,  he  became  the  leader  of  the 
House  under  circumstances  of  peculiar  difficulty,  for  his  party  had 
only  a  nominal  majority,  and  the  opposition  assumed  a  policy  of 
obstruction.  It  was  during  this  Congress  that  he  made  his  most 
notable  speeches  on  the  tariff  question,  and,  on  April  16,  1890,  he 
introduced  the  general  tariff  measure  which  has  since  borne  his 
name.  The  bill  passed  the  House,  and  after  protracted  and  stormy 
debates  and  repeated  amendments  was  signed  by  the  President, 
October  6,  1890. 

CRY  FOR  TARIFF  REFORM. 

This  was  just  before  the  general  elections,  when  the  Repub- 
licans were  defeated,  as  had  been  generally  expected.  The 
McKinley  bill,  which  had  proved  unpopular  with  the  country  at 
large,  was  held  to  be  one  of  the  elements  of  the  Republican  defeat. 
Cleveland's  announced  policy  of  tariff  reform  had  chimed  in  with 
the  popular  mood.  Mr.  McKinley' s  own  district,  which  had  been 
fiercely  contested,  was  carried  against  him.  Thereupon  a  popular 
movement  arose  in  Ohio  for  his  nomination  as  Governor.  It 
gathered  such  strength  that  the  Republican  convention  in  June  of 
the  next  year  nominated  him  by  acclamation.  He  was  elected 
and,  in  1893,  was  re-elected. 

Even  before  the  National  Convention  of  1892  McKinley  had 
expressed  himself  in  favor  of  the  renomination  of  President  Har- 
rison. He  went  there  a  Harrison  delegate.  Again  he  was  elected 
chairman  and  again  an  attempt  was  made  to  nominate  him  over 
Harrison  and  Elaine.  He  pursued  the  same  course  as  in  the  prior 
convention.  By  a  masterful  speech  from  the  platform  he  arrested 
the  movement  in  his  favor  and  turned  the  tide  toward  the  man  to 
whom  he  was  pledged.  In  the  campaign  which  followed  he  was 
one  of  the  most  unwearied  and  effective  of  the  orators  who  stumped 
the  country  for  Harrison. 


INCIDENTS   IN   THE   LIFE  OF   McKINLEY.  115 

It  was  no  fault  of  his  that  the  fight  was  lost,  save  that  the 
unpopularity  of  the  "  McKinley  bill "  was  one  of  the  factors  which 
made  for  defeat. 

In  the  State  elections  of  1894  he  made  a  remarkable  record 
as  a  campaign  speaker.  He  not  only  stumped  his  own  State,  but 
made  a  tour  through  the  West,  and  in  a  series  of  speeches  through 
Missouri,  Kansas,  Nebraska,  Iowa,  Minnesota,  Wisconsin,  Illinois, 
Indiana  and  Michigan  was  greeted  by  enormous  crowds.  He  began 
his  speeches  at  dawn,  and  often  spoke  a  dozen  times  a  day  from 
the  car  of  his  special  train,  from  the  adjacent  platforms,  or  in  the 
largest  halls  in  the  chief  cities  along  his  route.  On  undertaking 
the  journey  he  had  agreed  to  make  forty-six  speeches.  He  made, 
in  fact,  371  speeches  in  300  towns.  It  was  estimated  that  he  had 
travelled  over  sixteen  thousand  miles  and  addressed  over  two 
million  persons.  At  every  point  visited  his  party  achieved  enor- 
mous success  at  the  ensuing  elections,  the  popular  branch  of  Con- 
gress, largely  through  his  impetus,  being  carried  by  more  than 
two-thirds  majority. 

THOUGHT  OF  THE  COUNTRY  FIXED  ON  HIM. 

On  the  expiration  of  his  term  as  Governor  he  retired  to  his 
home  at  Canton.  He  was  universally  looked  upon  as  the  Repub- 
lican banner  bearer  in  the  next  Presidential  campaign.  As  the 
time  drew  nigh  for  the  convention  to  meet,  State  after  State  and 
district  after  district  declared  for  him.  The  Democratic  party 
had  been  torn  by  the  rise  of  the  free  silver  heresy,  which  demanded 
the  free  coinage  of  silver  at  16  to  i  as  the  necessary  condition  to 
the  return  of  financial  prosperity  in  the  country. 

The  Republican  party  was  to  a  much  lesser  degree  affected 
by  it.  Nevertheless,  Mr.  McKinley  chose  to  observe  the  policy 
of  silence.  Though  frequently  importuned  for  his  views  on  the 
silver  question,  it  was  not  until  the  Republican  National  Con- 
vention, on  June  18,  1896,  had,  on  the  first  ballot,  nominated  him 
for  the  Presidency,  on  a  gold  platform,  that  he  openly  avowed 
himself  the  leader  of  the  sound  money  forces. 

On  July  10  following  the  threatened  split  in  the  Democratic 


118  INCIDENTS   IN  THE   LIFE  OF  McKlNLEY. 

party  was  precipitated  by  the  nomination  at  the  Democratic 
National  Convention,  held  at  Chicago,  of  William  J.  Bryan,  on  a 
platform  advocating  the  free  coinage  of  silver.  A  large  nnmber 
of  the  most  prominent  Democrats  in  the  country,  and  especially 
in  the  Eastern  States,  supported  by  a  number  of  the  most  influen- 
tial Democratic  papers  and  voters,  all  of  whom  were  in  favor  of 
the  gold  standard,  refused  to  accept  the  nomination  of  Bryan.  A 
majority  went  over  to  McKinley,  but  an  influential  minority 
gathered  together  under  the  name  of  the  National  Democratic 
Part}',  held  a  convention  at  Indianapolis  on  September  2  and  3, 
and  nominated  as  their  standard  bearers  General  John  M.  Palmer, 
of  Illinois,  and  Simon  B.  Buckner,  of  Kentucky. 

It  was  generally  understood  that  this  convention  and  nomi- 
nation were  simply  to  enable  the  anti-silver  Democrats  who  were 
opposed  to  the  Chicago  platform,  and  nevertheless  could  not 
make  up  their  minds  to  vote  for  a  Republican  President,  the 
chance  to  express  their  disapproval  at  the  polls.  The  movement 
undoubtedly  was  of  assistance  to  McKinley. 

A  CAMPAIGN   FIERCELY  FOUGHT. 

The  McKinley-Bryan  campaign  of  1896  was  one  of  the  most 
fiercely  contested  in  the  history  of  the  Presidential  elections.  It 
was  fought  on  the  battleground  of  principle.  There  was  none 
of  the  "mud  throwing"  which  tarnished  the  record  of  other 
furious  party  engagements.  Both  candidates  were  acknowledged 
to  be  of  unsullied  personal  character. 

The  silver  question  was  practically  the  only  issue  before 
the  country,  but  the  interests  it  involved  were  so  tremendous,  the 
revolution  it  caused  in  political  demarcations  so  unusual,  that  the 
emotions  and  passions  of  the  voters  were  stirred  to  fever  heat 
The  result  proved  overwelrningly  in  favor  of  McKinley.  He  was 
elected  to  the  Presidency  by  an  electoral  majority  of  95  votes  and 
a  popular  plurality  of  601,854. 

It  was  Mr.  McKinley's  good  or  bad  fortune  to  assume  the 
telm  of  government  at  a  momentous,  and  what  seemed  like  a 
perilous  crisis  in  the  national  life  j  it  vvas  his  good  fortune  to 


INCIDENTS   IN   THE  LIFE  OF  McKINLEY.  lit 

guide  the  Ship  of  State  to  a  peaceful  haven.  It  is  too  eafly  now, 
it  must  be  left  to  the  historian  of  the  future,  to  decide  accurately 
how  far  the  triumph  was  due  to  the  sagacity  of  the  helmsman, 
how  far  to  the  enormous  advantages  which  were  inherent  in  the 
vessel  he  managed. 

Two  things  are  certain.  First,  the  result  of  the  war  with 
Spain  startled  all  civilized  nations  and  announced  that  here  in 
the  Western  hemisphere  had  arisen  a  new  power  with  whom  those 
nations  must  reckon  in  future.  Second,  the  conduct  of  Mr. 
McKinley  before,  during  and  after  the  war,  and  the  policies  he  had 
inaugurated  toward  our  new  possessions  met  with  the  approval  of 
a  large  majority  of  his  fellow  citizens. 

TRIBUTE  FROM  AMBASSADOR  YOUNG. 

When  William  McKinley  was  first  named  for  the  Presidency 
by  the  Republican  National  Convention  in  St.  Louis  on  June  18, 
1896,  he  was  at  his  home  in  Canton,  Ohio.  With  him  wsts  John  Rus- 
sell Young,  our  late  Ambassador  to  China,  who  wrote  the  follow- 
ing story  of  the  man  who  was  destined  to  become  one  of  the 
country's  martyrs,  and  of  his  home  life  : 

"It  has  been  my  privilege  to  take  part  in  a  ceremony  that 
should  live  in  history  with  the  recent  coronation  of  the  Czar,  of 
which  so  much  has  been  written  with  brilliancy  and  color.  In 
Moscow  all  the  nations  participated  in  the  tendering  of  the  crown 
to  the  monarch  of  an  empire;  the  pageant  is  known  to  you  all.  In 
Canton  I  have  this  afternoon  witnessed  the  tender  of  a  crown  even 
more  lustrous  than  that  of  the  Czar,  involving,  as  seems  to  be  the 
Will  of  Providence,  the  President  of  the  United  States. 

"  The  sun  rested  heavily  on  Canton  all  day.  The  town  was 
in  an  uneasy,  restless  condition.  The  one  thought  was  McKinley; 
The  Major,  from  being  an  established  and  prosperous  industry, 
tad  become  a  mania.  The  people  walked  about  in  a  state  of 
repression.  There  was  no  politics  in  their  concern,  for  at  Cantori 
McKinley  is  not  a  political  issue.  A  bright-eyed  newsdealet 
develops  a  stately  esteem  for  the  Major,  whose  nomination  among 
SO  many  other  things  would  be  such  a  blessing  to  the  town. 


118  INCIDENTS   IN   THE   LIFE   OF   McKINLEY. 

"  It  must  be  a  trial  to  have  the  eyes  of  the  world  turned  upon 
you,  and  this,  to  modest  Canton,  resting  here  upon  the  smiling, 
sheltered  plains,  with  her  all  too  marvelous  industries  and  such 
an  amount  of  as  yet  unexplained  progress  over  which  to  rejoice, 
to  suddenly  become  the  centre  of  the  world's  eyes  is  a  sore  trial. 
And  you  went  about  the  wholesome,  contented  and  well  shaded 
town,  whose  streets  would  put  many  an  older  town  to  blush,  feel- 
ing that  the  air  was  charged  with  cyclonic  influences  and  not 
knowing  what  the  day  might  bring  forth.  The  Major  was  in  his 
pretty  little  home,  twirling  his  eye-glasses  and  receiving  friends 
with  exquisite  courtesy.  Not  a  taciturn,  but  assuredly  not  a  talk- 
ative man. 

11  The  only  change  in  him  that  I  could  note  upon  this  day  of 
his  destiny  was  that  he  seemed  a  little  better  dressed  than  usual, 
a  kind  of  wedding-day  touch  in  his  raiment.  A  soft  breeze  swept 
around  the  piazza  and  the  sun  kept  watch  and  ward ;  now  and 
then  a  fervent  Cantonese  would  stop  and  pause  and  look  at  his 
home  in  wonder.  Occasionally  one  more  daring  would  approach 
the  piazza,  to  say  that  he  was  on  the  road  ;  that  he  had  come  from 
Akron,  Alliance  or  Cleveland,  and  that  the  boys  were  only  able  by 
medical  advice  to  hold  themselves  in,  but  as  soon  as  the  news 
came  Ohio  would  glow  with  carmine  and  fire. 

THE  OLD  COMRADE. 

"  Now  and  then  a  veteran  would  hobble  up,  and  if  a  little 
hazy  in  speech  and  gait,  what  matter  ?  He  only  wanted  to  ex- 
plain that  he  belonged  to  such  a  regiment,  and  if  he  did  not  have  a 
bullet  he  had  a  ballot  and  would  send  it  home  as  in  the  old  days. 
This  is  the  home  to  which  the  Governor  brought  his  bride.  Here 
his  children  came  to  him,  and  from  here  God  took  them  away,  for 
he  is  a  childless  man.  Therefore  it  is  a  home  with  sacred  memories. 

"  One  could  not  but  recall  the  Moscow  coronation  as  he 
stepped  into  the  modest  library.  You  notice  that  perhaps  the 
roller  desk  is  closed.  In  one  corner  is  a  long-distance  telephone. 
A  bright-eyed  youth,  with  a  flush  of  auburn  hair,  whom  every 
one  calls  'Sam,'  has  the  telephone  in  charge.  The  person  at  the 


INCIDENTS   IN   THE   LIFE  OF   McKINLEY.  119 

other  end  of  the  wire  is  apparently  a  cousin,  as  Sam's  outside  com- 
munications have  a  domestic  bearing.  It  is  the  room  of  the  busy 
man  with  many  books — the  kind  of  books,  as  you  note  by  their 
character,  which  a  busy  man  cares  to  have  near  him  ;  the  library 
of  the  student  who  means  to  know  what  he  must  know  in  five 
minutes. 

"It  is  a  small  company,  mainly  old  friends,  classmates,  fel- 
low soldiers,  in  a  state  of  tremor  and  anxiety  as  they  come  to  wit- 
ness this  crowning  honor  to  a  comrade.  Just  across  the  hall 
several  ladies  have  assembled,  and  you  hear  the  soft  echoes  of 
merry  talk.  Mrs.  McKinley  has  a  few  friends  to  share  with  her 
the  emotions  and  joys  of  the  day.  About  one,  the  venerable 
mother  arrived,  just  in  time  for  the  luncheon,  and  as  she  pauses 
to  greet  friends  you  note  the  radiant,  soft,  almost  triumphant 
smile  which  shows  the  compensation  and  peace  that  rests  upon 

her  soul. 

CALMLY  AWAITING  THE  NEWS. 

"  The  cynosure  of  seventy  millions  of  Americans  sits  in  an 
easy  chair,  holding  his  eyeglasses,  apparently  the  most  uncon- 
cerned person  in  the  room.  The  piazza  is  crowded  with  the 
neighbors  and  newspaper  gentlemen.  The  convention  is  on  and 
messages  come  to  him  over  the  telegraph  and  the  telephone. 
'  Sam,'  at  his  telephone,  is  anxious  that  the  telegraph  shall  not 
beat  him.  and  is  pleased  when  the  secretary  reads  ft  cm  the  yel- 
low slip  what  he  had  announced  a  minute  before.  The  news 
reports  are  brought  in  on  typewritten  sheets  and  read  aloud. 
Occasionally  there  comes  a  private  telegram,  which  the  Major 
puts  on  a  file  and  goes  on  twirling  his  glasses. 

"Apart  from  the  wedding-day  look  of  his  clothes  and  just  a  little 
closer  compression  of  his  lips  and  a  touch  of  pallor  on  the  fore- 
head, the  Major  shows  no  care.  He  looks  after  his  guests,  quick 
to  every  suggestion  of  hospitality.  You  must  have  a  chair,  or,  if 
you  care  to  follow  the  ballots,  he  will  hand  you  a  form,  or  perhaps 
a  glass  of  water  would  be  refreshing — a  quick,  observant  e}'e  as 
to  the  details  of  hospitality. 

"There  are  pauses,  not  much  talk,  rather  the  eyeglass  twirl, 


120  INCIDENTS   IN   THE   LIFE  OF   McKINLEY. 

bits  of  innocent,  but  especially  valuable,  conversation  thrown  in 
now  and  then,  but  rather  a  tendency  to  silence,  all  thoughts  bent 
on  St.  Louis  and  every  ear  listening  to  the  telegraph  tick. 

"The  news  came  minute  by  minute.  Every  stage  of  the 
St.  Louis  pageant  was  made  clear.  We  heard  the  fight  over  the 
platform,  retirement  of  the  silver  men,  and  finally  the  order  to 
call  the  roll  of  the  States.  We  hear  of  the  speeches.  Lodge  is 
now  on  his  feet.  Depew  has  taken  the  floor  for  Morton.  He  has 
called  the  receding  silver  delegates  erring  sisters,  at  which  there 
is  a  smile  over  the  room.  Allison  has  been  presented,  and  then 
Foraker  comes,  bringing  with  him  the  McKinley  crash.  Some 
of  us  walked  over  to  the  telephone  and  heard  the  roar  of  the 
multitude  hundreds  of  miles  away,  the  noise,  the  shouting,  the 
music  and  the  singing  of  the  songs. 

PROLONGED    ENTHUSIASM. 

"  'Sam',  at  the  telephone  was  rather  impatient  over  this 
enthusiasm— his  one  affair  that  the  convention  should  nominate 
McKinley.  The  tedium  was  broken  by  ripples  of  talk,  remem- 
brances of  famous  scenes  in  other  conventions,  when  Lincoln 
defeated  Seward,  the  tremendous  struggle  between  Elaine  and 
Grant  and  the  similar  incidents  in  Minneapolis.  It  was  remem- 
bered that  the  usual  duration  of  these  convention  blizzards  was 
about  half  an  hour,  and  watches  were  taken  out  to  note  now  long 
the  hurly-burly  would  last. 

"  There  is  an  end  to  everything,  even  a  convention  blizzard, 
and  in  time  we  heard,  with  a  sigh  of  relief,  that  the  storm  had 
gone  down,  and  that  the  States  were  to  be  called. 

"  There  were  pauses  when  some  of  the  votes  were  challenged, 
but  little  conversation.  I  asked  the  Governor  during  the  pause 
when  New  York  was  being  called  whether  votes  thus  far  had 
reached  his  estimate.  l  Rather  exceeds  it,'  he  answered,  when  one 
of  the  company  who  had  been  keeping  the  tally  ventured  the  pre- 
diction that  when  the  votes  of  Ohio  were  reached  there  would  be 
votes  sufficient  to  nominate  the  Governor.  Another  dwelt  upon 
the  poetic  fitness  of  the  nomination  being  made  by  McKinley's 

8 


INCIDENTS  IN  THE  LIFE  OF  McKINLEY.  121 

own  State.  There  were  observations  arising  out  of  the  incident, 
but  the  Governor  said  nothing,  looking  over  the  list  and  awaiting 
the  announcement  that  the  ballot  was  proceeding.  Finally  Ohio 
cast  her  forty-six  votes,  Pennsylvania  following,  and  it  was  done. 

"  There  was  just  a  faint  touch  of  color  on  the  face  of  McKin- 
ley  as  some  friends  spoke  a  word  of  congratulation  to  him  on  this 
the  moment  of  his  career.  He  talked  of  some  personal  matters  of 
minor  import  ;  showed  no  emotion  and  expressed  no  feeling,  bul: 
when  Pennsylvania  was  passed  calmly  took  up  his  convention 
form  and  continued  to  note  the  vote. 

"  But  iu^the  meantime  the  gun  was  fired,  the  bells  were  rung 
and  Canton  knew  that  the  bolt  had  at  last  come  out  of  the  heavens, 
and  all  of  the  town  turned  out.  So  I  came  from  the  Governor's 
house.  The  streets  swarmed  with  people — men,  women,  children, 
all  rushing  in  a  double-quick  to  the  McKinley  home,  everybody 
smiling  and  many  cheering.  The  crowd  was  so  large  that  it  was 
necessary  to  walk  in  the  street. 

FLAGS,  DRUMS  AND  LOUD  CHEERS. 

"Steam  whistles  were  blowing,  the  houses  blossomed  with 
flags,  drums  were  beating,  every  breast  bloomed  with  a  McKinley 
favor,  the  stores  were  closed,  clubs  began  to  march,  the  members 
shouting  and  crying  *  McKinley  comes.'  It  is  a  beautiful  sum- 
mer night  as  I  write,  and  the  town  is  in  revelry,  cannon  firing, 
fireworks,  horns  blowing,  the  air  filled  with  smoke  and  noise. 
Canton  will  long  remember  this  .day.  St.  Louis  has  crowned  her 
eminent  citizen  a  czar,  and  enthusiasm  in  eyery  form,  question- 
able or  otherwise,  rules  the  hour." 

In  commenting  on  the  death  of  the  President,  a  prominent 
newspaper  supplies  us  with  the  following  very  appreciative  esti- 
mate of  his  character : 

''  Life's  work  well  done  ; 
Life's  race  well  run  ; 
Life's  crown  well  won  ; 
Now  comes  rest 

**  Both  the  expected  and  the  unexpected  have  happened. 


122  INCIDENTS  IN  THE   LIFE  OF   McKINLEY. 

expectation  of  recovery  was  born  of  our  hope,  of  the  almost  cer- 
tainty that  so  dire  a  calamity  could  not  blight  a  period  of  such 
prosperity.  And  yet  when  that  shot  was  fired,  which  was  '  heard 
round  the  world,'  the  whole  nation  trembled  for  the  safety  of  its 
President,  and  the  heartbeats  of  the  people  were  mingled  with 
sobs  of  unrestrained  sorrow. 

"  Mr.  McKinley  in  his  official  capacity  represented  more  that 
is  dear  to  human  progress  than  any  other  personage  or  any 
potentate  on  the  planet.  He,  morever,  illustrated  in  his  own 
career  the  grandeur  of  those  multiform  and  inspiring  opportu- 
nities which  the  genius  of  our  government  offers  to  every  child 
cradled  within  the  limits  of  our  domain.  His  early  poverty  did 
not  stand  in  the  way  of  his  later  preferment.  He  expanded  the 
circle  of  his  narrow  circumstances  by  the  faithful  performance  of 
every  duty  that  fell  to  his  lot,  until  at  last  it  embraced  the  good 
will  and  confidence  of  a  whole  people,  who  gladly  thrust  upon 
him  the  high  honors  and  responsibilities  of  their  Chief  Execu- 
tive. Whether  as  a  school  teacher  in  his  youth,  or  as  a  private 
in  the  Civil  War,  where  he  won  promotion  by  earnest  fidelity  as 
well  as  by  deeds  of  daring,  or  later  on  in  the  Governor's  chair  or 
on  the  floor  of  Congress,  he  showed  the  qualities  which  men  first 
learn  to  envy  and  then  to  admire. 

TRUE  TO  GOD  AND  COUNTRY. 

"  He  had  but  one  rule,  to  be  true  to  his  God,  his  country  and 
his  own  ideal  of  a  noble  character,  and  if  as  a  consequence  he  won 
renown  it  was  because  he  deserved  it.  We  may  have  differed 
with  him  as  to  his  political  theories,  we  may  have  thrown  the 
whole  strength  of  logic  and  argument  into  the  opposition,  but  at 
this  moment,  when  death  has  opened  the  door  across  whose 
mysterious  threshold  he  has  passed  into  eternity  and  into  history, 
we  think  of  him  not  as  a  partisan  but  as  a  man,  and  gladly  give 
the  meed  of  praise  which  is  his  due. 

'  There  is  no  politics  in  the  chamber  wherein  rests  the  bier. 
When  death  has  made  good  its'  claim  on  mortality  we  are  in  no 
mood  to  speak  of  aught  else  than  the  character,  the  motives,  the 


INCIDENTS  IN  THE  LIFE  OF  McKINLEY,  123 

virtues   of   the    departed,    and    under    this   impulse   the   whole 
American  people  bow  their  heads  in  the  presence  of  a  nati 

bereavement.  ,  . 

"  Mr   McKinley  was  a  hard  and   successful  fighter  for 
party  a  brave  soldier  when  volunteers  were  sought  for  a  dangerous 
expedition,  a  most  intrepid  debater  when  his  personal  convictions 
were  involved,  and  so  honorable  that  on  at  least  two  occasions, 
when  the  nomination  for  the  Presidency  was  within  easy  reach, 
he  turned  the  tide  'from  himself  in  favor  of  the  candidate  to  whom 
he  had  pledged  his  personal  influence.    That  he  had  the  ambition 
of  office  is  not  to  be  denied,  but  that  he  would  not  accept  office 
unless  he  could  do  so  with  an  unsullied  conscience  is  a  fact  ot 
which  his  friends  and  the  whole  nation  may  well  be  proud,  while 
his  political  opponents  and  rivals  admire  the  fidelity  which  it  i 
hard  to  imitate. 

CHARACTER  BUILT  ON  PRINCIPLE. 
«  Mr  McKinley  has  shown  by  his  life  that  there  are  but  few 
things  which  last-a  character  which  is  built  on  moral  principle, 
an  ambition  which  seeks  the  good  of  the  country  and  a  religion 
which  can  rob  the  passage  from  the  present  to  the  future 


day  following  Mr.    McKinley's   death,  another  journal 
paid  him  this  well-merited  tribute  : 

"Even  as  a  wave  of  astonishment  accompanied  the  tide  ol 
horror  that  was  spread  over  the  land  by  the  assassin's  blow  at  th< 
life  of  the  President,  so  there  is  now  a  shock  of  surprise  mingled 
with  the  grief  which  bows  the  American  people.  The  news  from 
the  stricken  Cbief  Magistrate's  bedside  from  almost  the  first  had 
been  so  steadily  encouraging,  that  fear  of  a  fatal  result  was  all  but 
banished.  Dread  gave  place  not  merely  to  hope,  but  to  nearly 
perfect  confidence  in  his  recovery. 

"  The  doctors  were  unanimous  in  signing  the  cheerful  re- 
ports issued  up  to  midnight  on  Thursday,  and  relatives  and 
personal  friends,  who  were  kept  privately  informed  of  the  condi- 
tions exceeded  the  official  bulletins  in  their  assurances  to  the 


124  INCIDENTS   IN   THE   LIFE   OF   McKINLEY. 

public  that  the  President  would  live.  The  republic  was  prepar- 
ing for  a  heartfelt  thangksgiving  such  as  has  not  occurred  since 
Lee  surrendered  at  Appomatox.  The  suddenness  of  the  blow 
makes  it  all  the  harder  to  bear.  Rejoicing  has  been  so  swiftly 
turned  into  mourning  that  the  revulsion  of  feeling  stuns  the 
nation. 

"  He  is  gone,  and  for  the  people,  whose  freely  chosen  chief 
servant  he  was,  there  remains  in  this  hour  only  grief  that  cannot 
be  given  expression  with  tongue  or  pen,  since  language  fails,  in 
the  presence  of  a  tragedy  so  causeless,  so  pathetic,  so  hideous. 
Blameless  in  his  private  life,  a  man  so  kindly,  so  richly  endowed 
with  the  capacity  for  inspiring  friendship,  so  filled  with  good  will 
toward  others  that  even  his  political  opponents  responded  with 
good  will  in  their  turn — a  warm-hearted,  cordial,  Christian  gentle- 
man, William  McKinley  was  without  personal  enemies,  and  it 
seemed  unthinkable  that  even  madness  itself  could  wish  him 

harm. 

MISCREANT  OR  MANIAC? 

'  Yet  in  the  flower  of  his  usefulness  this  good  man  has  been 
cut  down  by  an  assassin.  The  wretch  does  not  plead  what  is 
understood  in  America  as  a  political  motive.  The  President's 
policies  had  critics  in  plenty,  fellow-countrymen  of  the  party  in 
antagonisim  to  his,  and  not  a  few  in  his  own  party.  But  the 
miscreant  or  maniac  who  took  his  life  pretends  to  no  sympathy 
with  the  views  of  these  critics.  Though  his  victim  was  the 
elected  Chief  Magistrate  of  a  self-governing  republic,  limited  in 
his  power  by  the  Constitution  and  the  laws,  and  the  supreme 
antithesis  of  a  hereditary  and  absolute  monarch,  the  assassin 
selected  him  as  the  representative  of  despotism. 

It  would  be  a  satisfaction  had  this  creature  come  to  us  from 
some  remote  and  poisonous  quarter  of  darkest  Europe,  where 
anarchy  is  bred  by  tyranny,  but  we  have  to  face  the  strange  and 
humiliating  fact  that  he  was  born  and  reared  among  ourselves, 
though  his  mind,  whether  it  be  sane  or  diseased,  is  as  little 
American  in  its  workings  as  if  he  had  never  wandered  beyond 
the  confines  of  a  Polish  commune.  The  assassin  is  himself  as 


INCIDENTS   IN   THE   LIFE  OF   McKINLEY.  125 

unexpected,  as  amazing,  as  his  act  was  horrible  and  astounding. 
But  such  as  the  wretch  is — debased,  abnormal,  petty  and  gro- 
tesque— it  was  in  his  power  to  slaughter  greatness  and  wrap  a 
nation  in  black.  For  a  crime  so  tremendous  human  law  has  no 
penalty  that  does  not  impress  with  its  immeasurable  inadequacy. 

"  While  his  countrymen  stand  about  the  bier  of  the  murdered 
President  sorrow's  must  be  the  one  voice  heard.  The  President 
has  fallen,  but  the  republic  is  unharmed.  The  tasks  left  unfin- 
ished by  William  McKinley  will  be  taken  up  by  the  hands  of 
him  whom  the  laws,  equal  to  every  emergency  of  State,  appoint 
to  fill  the  place  so  awfully,  so  bloodily  made  vacant.  Amid  the 
nation's  grief,  amid  the  tears  for  the  man  and  the  Magistrate 
taken  from  us  by  so  foul  and  unnatural  a  crime,  there  comes  to 
every  American  out  of  the  past  the  voice  of  another  victim  of  an 
assassin's  bullet,  who,  when  men  were  turned  distraught  by 
Lincoln's  death,  cried  to  them  : 

"  (God  reigns,  and  the  government  at  Washington  still  lives  1' " 


CHAPTER  \H. 

Mr.  McKinley's  Commanding  Influence  in  Congress — Famous 
Author  of  the  Tariff  Bill  Bearing  His  Name— His  Notable 
Career  as  Governor  of  Ohio— First  Term  as  President— 
His  Home  Life  and  Personality. 

T^O  tell  the  story  of  McKinley's  seven  terms  in  Congress  would 
be  to  tell  the  history  of  that  body  and  of  the  nation  for  four- 
teen years.  From  the  beginning  he  was  an  active  and  conspicuous 
member  of  the  House.  He  was  an  American,  and  he  reckoned 
nothing  that  concerned  Americans  to  be  unworthy  of  his  notice. 
He  recognized,  however,  that  in  view  of  the  vast  development, 
extension  and  multiplication  of  human  interests  there  was  little 
hope  for  success  as  a  universal  genius.  A  man  must  be  a  special- 
ist if  he  would  attain  the  greatest  eminence  and  the  greatest  use- 
fulness. Already,  indeed,  he  had  devoted  his  attention  especially 
to  the  subject  of  the  tariff  and  its  bearings  upon  American  industry. 
The  story  is  told  tjiat  soon  after  he  opened  his  law  office  at 
Canton,  while  he  was  as  yet  an  untrained  youth,  he  was  drawn 
into  a  debate  upon  that  subject.  Pitted  against  him  was  a  trained, 
shrewd  and  experienced  lawyer,  who  had  at  his  tongue's  end  all 
the  specious  sophistries' of  free  trade.  The  older  and  more  expert 
debater  won  a  seeming  victory,  but  McKinley,  though  silenced  for 
a  time,  was  not  convinced.  "  No  one  will  ever  overcome  me  again 
in  that  way,"  he  said  to  a  companion.  "  I  know  I  am  right  and  I 
know  that  I  can  prove  it."  Thenceforth  the  study  of  books  and 
men  and  conditions  of  industry  to  attain  that  end  was  the  chief 
labor  of  his  life. 

The  first  speech  he  made  in  Congress  was  on  the  subject  of 
the  tariff,  and,  as  already  stated,  was  in  opposition  to  the  non- 
protective  bill  introduced  by  Fernando  Wood,  of  New  York,  in 
1878.  That  speech  made  a  marked  impression  upon  the  House 
and  the  nation,  and  thenceforth  its  author  was  looked  to  in  every 
tariff  debate  to  be  one  of  the  chief  upholders  of  protection.  An 

126 


AUTHOR  OF  "THE  FAMOUS  TARIFF  fclLL  1ft 

incident  related  by  Judge  Kelley,  member  of  Congress  from  Penn. 
sylvania,  in  his  eulogy  upon  Dudley  C.  Haskell,  shows  how 
effectively  McKinley  answered  this  expectation.  It  was  when 
the  famous  Mills  bill  was  before  the  House.  Kelley  was  to  open 
the  debate  on  the  Republican  side  and  McKinley  was  to  close  it. 
Haskell,  who  was  a  member  of  the  Ways  and  Means  Committee, 
and  a  particularly  strong  debater,  desired  the  honor  of  closing 
the  debate,  and  asked  Judge  Kelley  to  persuade  McKinley  to 
give  way  to  him. 

The  Judge  went  to  McKinley  and  repeated  Haskell' s  request. 
McKinley  readily  consented,  saying  that  he  did  not  care  in  what 
order  he  spoke.  So  it  happened  that  McKinley  was  the  fourth 
or  fifth  speaker  and  Haskell  was  to  talk  last.  At  the  conclusion 
of  McKinley's  speech,  a  number  of  the  members  crowded  around 
to  congratulate  him.  Foremost  among  them  was  Haskell,  who 
seized  McKinley's  hand  enthusiastically,  exclaiming:  " Major,  I 
shall  speak  last  ;  but  you,  sir,  have  closed  the  debate." 

AN  AUTHORITY  ON  TARIFF  QUESTIONS. 

With  such  years  of  preparation  Major  McKinley  was  uni- 
versally recognized  as  the  one  man  of  all  best  qualified  to  frame 
a  new  tariff  law,  which  it  seemed  desirable  to  enact  when  the 
Republicans  resumed  full  control  of  the  Government  in  1889. 
He  was  appointed  Chairman  of  the  Ways  and  Means  Committee, 
and  presently  gave  to  the  nation  the  great  measure  which  bears 
his  name.  Of  his  work,  in  connection  with  it,  he  spoke  modestly. 
"  I  was  Chairman  of  the  Committee,"  he  said,  "  and  I  performed 
my  duties  as  best  I  could.  That  is  all.  Some  of  the  strongest 
men  in  Congress  were  on  the  Committee,  and  the  eight  of  us 
heard  everybody,  considered  everything,  and  made  up  the  best 
tariff  law  we  knew  how  to  frame."  Envious  rivals  and  unscru- 
pulous foes  have  sought  to  belittle  his  fame  by  declaring  that  it 
was  not  his  bill  at  all,  that  it  was  really  framed  by  others,  and 
that  his  connection  with  it  was  purely  accidental. 

To  no  intelligent  reader  of  the  history  of  the  time  can  it  be 
necessary  to  spend  much  space  in  refuting  that  stupid  calumny. 


128 

McKinley  was  the  author  and  finisher  of  that  bill.  He  conceived 
its  general  principles.  He  gave  countless  days  and  nights  of 
study  and  of  toil  to  the  elaboration  of  its  details.  By  his  unsui- 
passed  leadership  he  secured  its  adoption  by  the  House  without 
resorting  to  a  party  caucus — an  unprecedented  achievement.  He 
bore  the  brunt  of  the  hostile  criticism  which  was  heaped  upon 
the  law  by  the  free  traders  of  Great  Britain,  To  him,  and  to 
him  alone,  are  due  the  honor  and  the  fame  which  the  better 
judgment  of  the  world  has  awarded  to  the  author  of  that  historic 

measure. 

BENEFITS  OF  THE  BILL. 

The  McKinley  Tariff  bill  took  the  tax  from  some  of  the 
chief  necessities  of  life,  stimulated  old  industries,  and  called  new 
ones  of  vast  magnitude  into  prosperous  existence ;  greatly 
extended,  by  a  wise  system  of  reciprocity,  the  foreign  commerce 
of  the  country,  and  provided  means  for  conducting  the  Govern- 
ment and  for  keeping  the  financial  credit  of  the  nation  unim- 
paired. These  are  the  facts  now  abundantly  recognized  beyond 
all  challenge.  We  may  quote  as  absolutely  true  the  words 
spoken  by  Mr.  McKinley  himself  at  the  time  when  the  measure 
was  repealed  and  a  substitute  put  in  its  place  : — 

"The  law  of  1890  was  enacted  for  the  American  people  and 
the  American  home.  Whatever  mistakes  were  made  in  it  were 
all  anade  in  favor  of  the  occupations  and  the  firesides  of  the 
American  people.  It  didn't  take  away  a  single  day's  work  from 
a  solitary  American  workingrnan.  It  gave  work  and  wages  to 
all,  such  as  they  had  never  had  before.  It  did  it  by  establishing 
new  and  great  industries  m  this  country,  which  increased  the 
demand  for  the  skill  and  handiwork  of  our  laborers  everywhere. 
It  had  no  friends  in  Europe.  It  gave  their  industries  no  stimu- 
lus. It  gave  no  employment  to  their  labor  at  the  expense  of  our 
own. 

"  During  more  than  two  years  of  the  Administration  of  Presi- 
dent Harrison,  and  down  to  its  end,  it  raised  all  the  revenue 
necessary  to  pay  the  vast  expenditures  of  the  Government,  includ- 
ing the  interest  on  the  public  debt  and  the  pensions.  It  never 


AUTHOR  OF  THE  FAMOUS  TARIFF  BILL.  12» 

encroached  upon  the  gold  reserve,  which  in  the  past  had  always 
been  sacredly  preserved  for  the  redemption  of  outstanding  paper 
obligations  of  the  Government. 

"During  all  of  its  operations,  down  to  the  change  and 
reversal  of  its  policy  by  the  election,  of  1892,  no  man  can  assert 
that  in  the  industries  affected  by  it  wages  were  too  high,  although 
they  were  higher  than  ever  before  in  this  or  any  other  country. 
If  any  such  can  be  found,  I  beg  that  they  be  named.  I  chal- 
lenge the  enemies  of  the  law  of  1890  to  name  a  single  industry  of 
that  kind.  Further,  I  assert  that  in  the  industries  affected  by 
that  law,  which  that  law  fostered,  no  American  consumer  suffered 
by  the  increased  cost  of  any  home  products  that  he  bought.  He 
never  bought  them  so  low  before,  nor  did  he  ever  enjoy  the  bene- 
fit of  so  much  open,  free,  home  competition.  Neither  producer 
nor  consumer,  employer  or  employe,  suffered  by  that  law." 

NOMINATED  FOR  GOVERNOR. 

At  the  election  of  1890,  as  we  have  said,  the  opposing  party 
by  gerrymandering  defeated  Mr.  McKinley  by  3.00  votes  in  a  dis- 
trict normally  Democratic  by  2,900,  and  thus  prevented  his  return 
to  Congress.  The  answer  to  his  defeat  came  unhesitatingly. 
Mr.  McKinley  was  nominatsd  by  the  Republicans  by  acclamation 
for  Governor  of  the  State.  Then  followed  one  of  the  most  memor- 
able campaigns  ever  waged  in  the  Buckeye  State. 

Mr.  McKinley  began  his  campaign  on  August  i,  and  for 
three  months  he  travelled  night  and  day,  making  from  two  to  a 
dozen  speeches  a  day,  until  he  had  visited  every  county  in  the 
State.  His  campaign  was  on  national  issues,  on  the  tariff,  on 
protection  ;  and  so  eloquently  and  passionately  did  he  defend  his 
principles  that  great  crowds  turned  out  to-  hear  him.  The  atten- 
tion of  the  whole  country  was  drawn  to  the  State  of  Ohio  and  its 
campaign.  Newspaper  correspondents  followed  the  champion  of 
protection  in  his  tour  of  the  State,  and  filled  the  press  of  the 
country  with  descriptions  of  scenes  novel  in  political  campaigns. 

Every  inch  of  ground  was  stubbornly  contested,  but  the  peo- 
ple turned  to  McKinley  as  the  apostle  of  the  true  dispensation, 


180 

ar«d  women  and  children  said  he  had  made  protection  and  tariff 
plain  to  them.  In  that  campaign,  the  first  general  campaign 
Mr.  McKinley  had  ever  made,  he  was  pronounced  the  best  vote- 
getter  ever  seen  on  the  stnmp  in  Ohio.  He  won  the  admiration 
of  opponents,  as  he  won  the  devotion  of  his  own  party,  and  his 
election  by  a  handsome  majority  was  gratifying  to  one  party, 
without  being  a  source  of  bitterness  to  the  rank  and  file  of  the 
other.  As  his  first  term  in  the  Governor's  chair  drew  toward  its 
close  he  was  renominated  by  acclamation,  and  after  another  spirited 
campaign  he  was  re-elected,  in  1893,  by  a  majority  of  more  than 
80,000,  at  that  time  the  largest  but  one  in  the  history  of  the  State. 

SECURED  NEEDED  REFORMS. 

As  Governor,  Mr.  McKinley  never  forgot  that  he  was  the 
Chief  Magistrate,  not  merely  of  the  party  which  had  elected  him, 
but  of  the  whole  State,  and  he  was  untiring  in  his  efforts  to  secure 
for  the  whole  State  a  wise,  economical,  and  honorable  administra- 
tion. He  took  great  interest  in  the  management  of  the  public 
institutions  of  the  State,  making  a  special  study  of  means  for  their 
betterment,  and  securing  many  important  and  much-needed  re- 
forms. He  urged  the  preserving  and  improving  of  the  canal 
system,  and  was  an  earnest  promoter  of  the  movement  for  good 
roads.  To  the  question  of  tax  reform  he  paid  much  attention  and 
repeatedly  urged  its  importance  upon  the  Legislature.  Many 
questions  relating  to  the  welfare  of  workingmen  became  acute 
during  his  administration,  and  were  dealt  with  by  him  in  a  spirit  of 
intelligent  sympathy. 

He  had  already  long  been  known  as  an  advocate  of  the  eight- 
Lour  system,  and  of  arbitration  as  a  means  of  settling  disputes 
between  employers  and  employes.  It  was  due  to  his  initiative 
that  the  State  Board  of  Arbitration  was  established  in  Ohio,  and 
to  its  successful  operation  he  gave  for  nearly  four  years  his  close 
personal  attention.  He  made  various  wise  recommendations  for 
legislation  for  the  better  protection  of  life  and  limb  in  industrial 
pursuits,  and  as  a  result  several  salutary  laws  to  such  effect  were 
put  upon  the  statute  books.  When  destitution  and  distress 


AUTHOR  OF  THE  FAMOUS  TARIFF  BILL.  131 

prevailed  among  the  miners  of  the  Hocking  Valley,  he  acted  with 
characteristic  promptness  and  decision.  News  that  many  families 
were  in  danger  of  starving  reached  him  at  midnight.  Before  sun- 
rise he  had  a  carload  of  provisions  on  the  way  to  their  relief. 

During  the  summer  of  1894  strikes  and  other  disturbances 
prevailed,  especially  on  the  chief  railroad  lines,  and  for  three 
weeks  regiments  of  militia  were  on  duty,  acquitting  themselves 
most  creditably  for  the  protection  of  property  and  enforcement  of 
the  law,  without  any  unnecesssary  harshness  towards  either  party 
to  the  disputes.  On  two  noteworthy  occasions  desperate  efforts 
were  made  by  ill-advised  mobs  to  commit  the  crime  of  lynching. 
Governor  McKinley  promptly  used  the  military  forces  of  the  State 
to  prevent  such  violence  of  law  and  dishonor  of  the  Commonwealth, 
and  showed  himself  a  thorough  master  of  the  trying  situation. 

NO  FRIEND  TO  RED  TAPE. 

A  distinctive  feature  of  the  McKinley  Administration  was  the 
absence  of  red  tape  and  needless  formality.  In  his  method  of 
transacting  business  the  Governor  was  concise  and  direct,  and  in 
his  intercourse  with  people,  though  dignified,  he  was  always  ap- 
proachable and  genial.  Access  was  readily  had  to  him  at  all 
reasonable  times,  and  no  matter  of  actual  interest  ever  failed  to 
receive  his  courteous,  prompt  and  painstaking  attention. 

In  1884,  Mr.  McKinley  was  a  delegate-at-large  from  Ohio 
to  the  Republican  Nominating  Convention,  and  helped  to  place 
James  G.  Elaine  on  the  ticket.  At  the  National  Convention  of 
1888  he  represented  Ohio  in  the  same  capacity  and  was  an  earnest 
and  loyal  supporter  of  John  Sherman.  At  that  convention,  after 
the  first  day's  balloting,  the  indications  were  that  Mr.  McKinley 
himself  might  be  made  the  candidate.  Then  his  strength  of  pur- 
pose and  his  high  ideas  of  loyalty  and  honor  showed  themselves, 
for  in  an  earnest  and  stirring  speech  he  demanded  that  no  vote  be 
cast  for  him. 

From  the  first  two  delegates  had  been  voting  persistently  for 
him,  although  he  had  not,  of  course,  been  formally  placed  in 
nomination.  Now  the  number  of  his  supporters  rose  to  fourteen. 


132  AUTHOR  OF  THE  FAMOUS  TARIFF  BILL. 

All  the  Republican  Congressmen  at  Washington  telegraphed  to 
the  convention  urging  his  nomination.  The  air  became  electrified 
with  premonitions  of  a  stampede. 

Mr.  McKinley  had  listened  to  the  announcement  of  two  votes 
for  him  on  each  ballot  with  mingled  annoyance  and  amusement. 
But  now  the  case  was  growing  serious.  The  next  ballot  might 
give  him  a  majority  of  the  whole  convention.  He  had  only  to  sit 
still  and  the  ripe  fruit  would  drop  into  his  hands.  He  had  only 
to  utter  an  equivocal  protest  and  the  result  would  be  the  same. 
But  there  was  nothing  equivocal  about  William  McKinley.  On 
one  side  was  his  personal  honor;  on  the  other  side  the  Presidency 
of  the  United  States.  In  choosing  between  the  two  hesitation  was 
impossible.  He  sprang  to  his  feet  with  an  expression  upon  his 
face  and  an  accent  in  his  voice  that  thrilled  the  vast  assembly,  but 
hushed  it  mute  and  silent  as  the  grave  while  he  spoke  and  fore- 
stalled the  movement  to  make  him  the  Presidential  nominee. 

CHAIRMAN  OF  THE  CONVENTION. 

Mr,  McKinley  again  occupied  a  seat  as  a  delegate-at-large 
from  Ohio  in  the  National  Convention  of  1892,  and  was  made  the 
permanent  chairman  of  the  convention.  On  this  occasion  an 
incident  similar  to  that  of  1888  occurred.  Mr.  McKinley  was 
pledged  in  honor  to  the  support  of  President  Harrison  for  renomi- 
nation,  and  he,  as  earnestly  and  as  loyalty  as  he  had  supported 
Mr.  Sherman  four  years  before,  labored  for  Mr.  Harrison's  suc- 
cess. The  Republican  leaders  who  were  opposed  to  Harrison's 
renomination  sought  to  accomplish  their  purpose  by  stampeding 
the  convention  for  McKinley  himself.  No  less  than  183  votes 
were  cast  for  him,  against  his  earnest  protest. 

When  the  vote  of  Ohio  was  announced,  "  44  for  McKinley," 
he  himself  from  the  chair  challenged  its  correctness.  The  reply 
was  made  that  he  was  not  then  a  member  of  the  delegation,  his 
alternate  taking  his  place  when  he  was  elected  to  the  chair. 
Thereupon  Mr.  McKinley  called  another  man  to  the  chair  and 
took  his  place  upon  the  floor,  checked  the  incipient  stampede, 
and  moved  that  the  renomination  of  Harrison  be  made  unani- 


AUTHOR  OF  THE  FAMOUS  TARIFF  BILL.  133 

mous.  "  Your  turn  will  come  in  1896  !"  shouted  his  supporters, 
and  that  prophecy  was  destined  to  be  fulfilled. 

Having  meanwhile,  as  has  already  been  set  forth,  been 
thrown  out  of  his  seat  in  the  House  of  Representatives,  and 
served  two  terms  as  Governor  of  Ohio,  Mr.  McKinley  formally 
entered  the  campaign  of  1896,  as  an  aspirant  for  the  Republican 
nomination,  and  so  earnestly  and  skilfully  was  the  canvass  in 
his  behalf  conducted,  under  the  leadership  of  Mark  A.  Hanna, 
that,  when  the  convention  assembled  at  St.  Louis  in  that  year, 
his  nomination  was  a  foregone  conclusion. 

On  the  first  and  ofluy  ballot  taken  he  received  66 1  1-2  votes, 
to  84  1-2  cast  for  Thor^as  B.  Reed,  60  1-2  for  Matthew  S.  Quay 
(58  of  these  coming  from  the  State  of  Pennsylvania),  58  for  Levi 
P.  Morton,  and  35  1-2  for  William  B.  Allison.  The  election 
resulted  in  a  triumphant  victory  for  Mr.  McKinley,  who  received 
271  votes  in  the  Electoral  College,  to  176  cast  for  William  J. 
Bryan.  Garret  A.  Hobart,  of  New  Jersey,  was  elected  Vice- 
President  at  the  same  time,  but  died  before  the  end  of  his  term 

in  omce. 

REVIVAL  OF  PROSPERITY. 

The  first  administration  of  President  McKinley  was  marked 
by  the  passage  of  the  Dingley  Tariff  Act  in  June,  1897,  by  the 
beginning  of  a  revival  of  prosperity  throughout  the  country 
which  has  continued  ever  since  j  by  the  successful  \vaging  of  the 
war  that  wrested  from  Spain  the  last  vestiges  of  her  vast  colonial 
empire,  and  placed  the  United  States  in  the  first  rank  as  a  World 
Power ;  and  by  the  approval,  on  March  14,  1900,  of  the  Act  of 
Congress  unequivocally  establishing  the  gold  standard. 

Soon  after  Mr.  McKinley  was  inducted  into  office,  an  effort 
was  made  to  secure  the  recognition  by  Congress  of  the  belligerency 
of  the  Cuban  insurgents,  but  the  joint  resolution  to  that  effect 
secured  the  endorsement  of  the  Senate  only.  The  relations 
between  the  United  States  and  Spain  were  severely  strained 
throughout  the  year  1897  because  of  the  brutal  manner  in  which 
the  efforts  to  restore  Spanish  domination  in  Cuba  were  prosecuted. 

On  January  25,  1898,  the  protected  cruiser  Maine  arrived  in 


134  AUTHOR  OF  THE   FAMOUS  TARIFF  BILL, 

the  harbor  of  Havana,  having  been  ordered  thither  by  President 
McKinley  as  an  act  of  courtesy  to  the  Spanish  Government,  and 
not  as  a  menace,  which  was  the  interpretation  put  upon  it  by  the 
Spanish  people,  if  not  by  their  government.  On  February  15,  the 
Maine  was  blown  up  while  riding  peacefully  in  the  harbor  of 
Havana,  with  terrible  loss  of  life.  After  this  tragedy  the  termina- 
tion of  peaceful  relations  between  the  United  States  and  Spain 
was  only  a  question  of  time. 

On  March  5,  General  Fitzhugh  Lee's  recall  from  his  position 
as  Consul-General  of  the  United  States  at  Havana  was  requested  by 
the  Spanish  Government,  and  promptly  refused  by  the  United  States. 
Two  days  later  a  bill  was  introduced  in  the  House  appropriating 
$50,000,000  for  national  defense,  which  became  a  law  by  President 
McKinley' s  signature  on  March  9.  The  report  of  a  Court  of 
Inquiry  into  the  Maine  disaster,  which  was  transmitted  to  Con- 
gress and  made  public  on  March  28,  still  further  strained  the 
relations  between  the  two  countries,  and  on  April  5,  all  the  United 
States  Consuls  in  Cuba  were  recalled. 

FIGHT  FOR  CUBAN  INDEPENDENCE. 

On  the  nth,  President  McKinley  sent  a  message  to  Congress 
on  the  Cuban  situation,  in  which  he  advised  the  intervention  of 
the  United  States  in  the  affairs  of  the  island,  but  without  a  recog- 
nition of  the  insurgent  government.  This  conservative  action 
was  directly  due  to  the  firmness  of  the  President  in  resisting  the 
policy  advocated  by  the  radical  element  in  Congress.  The  situa- 
tion developed  rapidly  after  this,  and  on  April  19,  Congress  passed 
the  joint  resolution  recognizing  the  independence  of  the  Island  of 
Cuba,  and  authorizing  the  President  to  intervene  with  the  armed 
forces  of  the  United  States. 

On  the  following  day,  President  McKinley  issued  an  ulti- 
matum to  Spain,  in  accordance  with  the  terms  of  the  resolution 
passed  by  Congress  ;  on  the  2ist,  Minister  Woodford  received  his 
passports  from  the  Spanish  Government,  and  on  the  22d,  President 
McKinley  issued  a  proclamation  declaring  that  a  state  of  hostil- 
ities existed. 


AUTHOR  OF  THE  FAMOUS  TARIFF  BILL.  135 

It  is  unnecessary  in  this  connection  to  enter  into  the  details 
of  the  brief  but  brilliant  campaign  which  ensued,  and  which 
resul^d,  despite  many  mistakes  and  blunders  by  the  War 
Department,  in  the  prompt  extinction  of  Spanish  rule,  not  only 
in  Cuba  and  in  Porto  Rico,  but  in  the  Philippine  archipelago  as 
well.  On  August  12,  a  peace  protocol  was  signed  between  Spain 
and  the  United  States,  and  hostilities  were  suddenly  terminated. 
The  two  nations  then  entered  upon  the  task  of  restoring  peaceful 
relations,  which  were  effected  by  the  signing  at  Paris,  on  Decem- 
ber ia,  of  a  formal  treaty  of  peace. 

RETURN  OF  PEACE. 

On  February  10,  1899,  the  treaty  of  peace,  having  been  rati- 
fied by  the  Senate  was  signed  by  President  McKinley,  and  on 
March  17,  the  Queen  Regent  of  Spain  affixed  her  signature  to  the 
same  document.  The  complete  return  of  peaceful  relations  was 
signalized  on  June  16  by  the  arrival  in  Madrid  of  Bellamy  Storer, 
the  new  Minister  of  the  United  States  to  Spain.  Meanwhile,  early 
in  the  year,  a  formidable  insurrection  against  United  States 
authority  broke  out  in  the  Philippines,  under  the  leadership  of 
Emilio  Aguinaldo,  and  was  prosecuted  with  varying  success  until 
its  collapse  early  in  1901,  which  was  signalized,  on  March  23,  by 
the  capture  of  Aguinaldo. 

As  President  McKinley' s  first  term  drew  towards  a  close, 
there  was  no  dissentient  voice  in  the  Republican  party  to  the 
popular  demand  for  his  renomination  and  re-election.  The 
National  Convention  of  1900  met  in  Philadelphia,  in  June,  and 
renominated  Mr.  McKinley  by  a  unanimous  voice,  Governor 
Theodore  Roosevelt,  of  New  York,  being  placed  on  the  ticket  as 
the  candidate  for  Vice  President,  and  William  J.  Bryan  again 
becoming  McKinley' s  Democratic  and  Populistic  opponent.  The 
contest  at  the  polls  resulted  in  an  even  more  decided  triumph  for 
Mr.  McKinley  than  that  of  1896,  he  receiving  292  votes  in  the 
Electoral  Colleges,  to  155  cast  fv>r  Mr,  Bryan.  Every  Northern 
State,  except  Colorado,  Idaho,  Montana  and  Nevada  gave  its  vote 
to  William  McKinley. 


136 

President  McKinley  was  inaugurated  for  his  second  term  on 
March  4,  1901,  when  he  reappointed  his  Cabinet,  and  made  few 
changes  in  the  personnel  of  his  first  administration.  The  policy 
which  he  had  adopted  in  dealing  with  the  Territories  acquired 
from  Spain  was  amply  sustained  by  the  decisions  of  the  Supreme 
Court  in  the  so-called  insular  cases,  delivered  in  June,  as  far  as 
they  disposed  of  the  issues  before  the  Court.  There  was  a  recog- 
nized difference  between  the  situation  in  Porto  Rico  and  that  in 
the  Philippines,  and  the  final  disposition  of  the  status  of  the 
latter  was  not  then  determined. 

GOVERNMENT  FOR  THE  PHILIPPINES. 

The  decisions  of  the  Court,  as  far  as  they  went,  made  neces- 
sary some  slight  alterations  in  the  plans  which  President  McKinley 
had  made  for  proclaiming  a  full  system  of  civil  govern- 
ment in  the  Pldlippines  on  July  4th,  but  a  partial  system  was 
put  in  operation  on  that  date.  Late  in  July,  on  notice  from  the 
Porto  Rican  Legislature  that  a  system  of  local  taxation  had  been 
established  in  the  island  which  would  yield  revenue  sufficient  for 
the  support  of  its  government,  the  President  issued  a  proclama- 
tion declaring  the  abolition  of  import  and  export  duties  on  the 
trade  of  Porto  Rico  with  the  United  States,  which  had  been  im- 
posed by  the  so-called  Foraker  lawr,  which  provided  a  form  of 
civil  government  for  the  island. 

This  was  the  last  notable  event  in  President  McKinley' s 
administration  previous  to  the  brutal  assault  upon  him  by  the 
anaichist  Czolgosz,  within  the  enclosure  of  the  Pan-American 
Exposition  at  Buffalo,  on  Friday,  September  6th. 

The  domestic  life  of  William  McKinley  was  typical  of  the 
best  American  phase.  On  the  occasion  of  his  visit  to  his  sister, 
at  Canton,  just  after  the  war,  which  decided  his  life  vocation,  he 
met  one  of  his  sister's  friends,  a  pretty  school  girl,  named  Ida 
Saxton,  the  daughter  of  James  Saxton,  a  well-to-do  banker  of  the 
town.  A  mere  acquaintanceship  was  formed  at  the  time,  and 
when  he  went  to  Albany  to  study  law,  and  she  to  a  seminary  at 
Media,  in  Pennsylvania,  to  complete  her  education,  they  tempo- 


187 


rarily  lost  sight  of  each  other.  A  few  years  later,  when  Mr. 
McKinley  returned  to  Canton  to  open  his  lay  office,  and  Miss 
Saxton  came  home  from  school  and  a  European  tour,  they  met 
again  and  renewed  the  old  acquaintance,  which  soon  passed 
through  the  stage  of  mere  friendship  into  love. 

Their  marriage  took  place  on  January  35,  1871,  in  the  Pres- 
byterian Church  at  Canton,  which  had  been  built  almost  entirely 
through  the  liberality  of  the  bride's  grandmother.  The  cere- 
mony was  performed  by  Dr.  Buckingham,  the  pastor  of  the  church, 
assisted  by  Dr.  Endsley,  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  of 
which  Major  McKinley  was  a  member. 

THE  HOME  OF  THE  PRESIDENT. 

Major  and  Mrs.  McKinley  began  housekeeping  in  Canton  in 
the  house  which  has  been  made  familiar  to  the  world  by  innum- 
erable illustrations,  although  a  great  part  of  their  married  life  has 
been  passed  at  Washington  during  her  husband's  long  term  of 
service  in  Congress  as  well  as  the  Presidency,  and  four  years  of 
it  in  the  Governor's  mansion  at  Columbus.  Two  daughters  were 
born  to  them,  both  dying  in  early  childhood.  The  first  child, 
named  Kate,  was  born  on  Christmas  Day,  1871. 

Just  before  the  birth  of  the  second  daughter,  named  Ida,  Mrs. 
McKinley  was  called  upon  to  mourn  the  death  of  her  own  mother, 
and  never  recovered  fully  from  the  shock  and  the  long  and  severe 
illness  which  she  sustained  as  a  consequence.  The  younger  child 
died  within  six  months,  and  shortly  afterwards  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Mc- 
Kinley were  called  upon  to  follow  their  first  born  also  to  the  grave. 

This  accumulation  of  afflictions  increased  the  devotion  to  each 
other  of  the  bereaved  parents,  which  has  been  the  occasion  of 
remark  by  all  who  have  been  brought  into  personal  contact  with 
them.  Mrs.  McKinley,  as  already  stated,  never  recovered  from 
the  prostration  of  health  and  strength  from  which  she  suffered  at 
the  time  of  the  illness  already  alluded  to.  A  partial  paralysis  of 
one  leg  made  it  difficult,  although  not  painful,  for  her  to  be  upon 
her  feet,  and  this  inability  for  exercise  in.  turn  had  a  serious  effect 
upon  her  general  health, 


138  AUTHOR  OF  THE   FAMOUS  TARIFF  BILL. 

Yet  she  had  always  accompanied  her  husband  when  he  went 
to  Washington  in  the  discharge  of  his  Congressional  duties,  and 
on  more  than  one  occasion  accompanied  him  on  extended  tours  in 
different  parts  of  the  country.  On  the  other  hand,  Mr.  McKinley 
never  spent  away  from  his  wife's  side  a  single  hour  that  had  not 
been  demanded  for  the  actual  performance  of  his  public  duties. 

In  the  spring  of  1901,  President  McKinley,  accompanied  Vy 
several  members  of  his  Cabinet,  made  a  notable  journey  across 
the  Continent,  to  be  present  at  San  Francisco  on  the  occasion  of 
the  launching  there  of  the  battleship  "Ohio."  Mrs.  McKinley 
accompanied  the  President  on  this  trip,  which  was  destined  to 
prove  too  protracted  and  too  fatiguing  for  her  feeble  health.  A 
few  days  before  the  Presidential  party  was  due  in  San  Francisco, 
it  was  found  necessary  for  the  President  to  hasten  to  that  place 
with  his  wife,  whose  condition  had  now  become  critical. 

LINGERED  AT  DEATH'S  DOOR. 

For  some  days  during  May  Mrs.  McKinley  lingered  at  death's 
door;  but  at  last  there  was  a  change  for  the  better,  and,  after  she 
had  gained  sufficient  strength  to  stand  the  journey  East,  she  rapidly 
recovered  her  former  measure  of  health  at  her  old  home  in  Canton. 
Throughout  this  trying  and  anxious  period,  the  President's  devo- 
tion to  his  sick  and  helpless  wife  was  touching  in  the  extreme, 
and  evoked  in  his  favor  the  universal  admiration  of  his  country- 
men. 

President  McKinley  had  a  singularly  attractive  personality. 
Always  courteous  and  affable,  he  possessed  a  dignity  of  mind 
and  deportment  that  precluded  any  attempt  at  offensive  famil- 
iarity. Nature  had  endowed  him  with  a  splendid  constitution, 
which  had  never  been  impaired  by  excesses  of  any  sort.  In 
physique  below,  rather  than  above,  the  medium  height,  his  broad 
shoulders  and  erect  figure  gave  him  a  commanding  presence.  His 
face  was  often  likened  to  that  of  Napoleon  Bonaparte,  but  it 
actually  resembled  that  of  Daniel  Webster  more  closely.  He 
had  a  full,  high,  and  broad  forehead  ;  deep-set,  piercing  eyes  of 
bluish  grey,  which  looked  almost  black  beneath  the  heavy  black 


AUTHOR  OF   THE   FAMOUS  TARIFF   BILL.  139 

eyebrows ;    a    square    and   massive    jaw,  and  clean-cut    features 
throughout. 

Possessed  of  unusual  oratorical  powers,  he  was  also  a  delight- 
ful conversationalist.  His  conversation,  which  ranged  easily  over 
all  the  interesting  topics  and  episodes  of  the  day,  was  distin- 
guished by  an  absolute  purity  of  tone,  no  word  ever  escaping  his 
lips  that  he  might  hesitate  to  utter  in  any  presence.  He  drank 
no  intoxicating  liquors,  but  was  fond  of  a  good  cigar,  and  was 
also  fond  of  music,  and  had  almost  a  passion  for  flowers.  He 
invariably  dressed  in  black,  wearing  a  frock  coat  closely  buttoned, 
and  a  silk  hat,  and  his  face  was  always  smoothly  shaven. 

As  a  public  speaker,  his  appearance  on  the  platform  instantly 
commanded  attention,  and  he  was  always  impressive  as  well  as 
pleasing.  Gifted  with  a  rich  tenor  voice,  full  and  vibrant,  he 
never  had  to  strain  it  to  make  himself  heard.  In  public  he  talked 
slowly  and  earnestly,  in  words  of  common  use  and  of  few  sylla- 
bles, his  discourse  being  enforced  by  comparatively  little  gesticu- 
lation. However  abstract  might  be  his  theme  or  exalted  his 
ideas,  his  language  was  always  made  plain  to  the  ordinary  intel- 
ligence. 

INVOLVED  BY  BANKER'S  FAILURE. 

By  the  failure,  in  February,  1893,  of  Robert  I/.  Walker,  a 
prominent  banker  and  capitalist  of  Youngstown,  Ohio,  Mr. 
McKinley,  who  was  then  Governor  of  the  State,  was  deeply 
involved.  He  had  trusted  implicitly  in  Mr.  Walker's  honesty  and 
good  judgment,  and  had  become  more  deeply  involved,  by  the 
endorsement  of  the  insolvent's  paper,  than  he  suspected.  Mr. 
McKinley,  as  soon  as  he  was  made  aware  of  the  extent  of  his 
misfortune,  turned  all  his  property  over  to  trustees,  for  the  benefit 
of  his  creditors,  the  separate  estate  of  Mrs.  McKinley,  which  was 
considerable  in  size,  taking  the  same  course  without  any  hesita- 
tion on  her  part.  The  total  indebtedness  amounted  to  $106,000, 
all  which  was  provided  for  by  friends  in  the  course  of  a  year,  and 
in  February,  1894,  the  trustees  deeded  back  to  both  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
McKinley  their  original  estates  intact. 

The  death   of  President    McKinley    came  with  the  greater 


140  AUTHOR  OF  THE  FAMOUS  TARIFF  BILL, 

shock  after  the  hope  of  his  recovery  had  seemed  so  well  estab- 
lished. In  the  week  of  waiting  the  country  learned  how  highly 
it  prized  the  life  that  was  hanging  in  the  balance.  Mr.  McKinley 
had  come  to  the  Presidency  with  the  usual  distrust  of  many  and 
with  the  enthusiastic  devotion  probably  of  very  few.  Year  by 
year,  as  he  steadily  broadened  to  the  responsibilities  of  his  high 
office,  and  the  party  politician  ripened  into  the  national  statesman, 
he  had  constantly  grown  in  the  estimation  of  his  countrymen, 
who  recognized  in  him  a  high  type  of  patriotic  American  citizen- 
ship, and  freely  extended  to  him  the  confidence  that  his  proved 
chaiacter  had  earned. 

HELD  IN  HIGHEST  ESTEEM. 

No  modern  President  has  held  a  surer  place  in  contemporary 
esteem  than  McKinley  had  attained  through  years  of  trial  that 
had  tested  and  developed  his  higher  qualities.  At  no  time  in  his 
career  was  the  universality  of  this  kindly  feeling  toward  him 
more  apparent  than  at  this  fatal  visit  to  Buffalo  and  in  the  ready 
response  to  his  uplifting  speech  at  the  Exposition.  It  was  a 
speech  that  must  in  any  event  have  been  remembered,  but  that 
will  be  recalled  with  especial  interest  now  as  marking  the  cul- 
mination of  McKinley's  development  in  statesmanship  and 
embodying  his  last  patriotic  aspirations  for  the  great  nation  whose 
true  spirit  he  had  so  well  understood. 

In  his  personal  and  domestic  relations  also  we  may  ba  glad  to 
claim  him  as  a  typical  American,  clean,  upright  and  serious- 
minded,  of  simple  habits  yet  meeting  all  the  exactions  of  life 
with  unaffected  dignity.  These  personal  qualities  had  strength- 
ened the  general  confidence  that  grew  up  in  the  President's  public 
character,  and  thus  an  element  of  personal  sorrow  was  added  to 
the  horror  with  with  which  the  country  heard  of  his  cruel 
assassination. 

Recovery  from  such  a  wound  seemed  at  the  time  impossible, 
until  the  really  marvelous  skill  of  surgery  had  opened  a  hope 
that  in  a  few  days  grew  almost  to  a  certainty.  Yet  the  shock 
was  greater  than  had  been  believed,  and  in  spite  of  skill  and 


AUTHOR  OF  THE  FAMOUS  TARIFF  BIU-  Ul 

science  the  sufferer's  life  has  ebbed  away,  to  the  heartfelt  grief  of 
the  whole  American  people. 

The  man  who  needs  ovt  prayers  to-day  is  the  new  President. 
Under  our  Republican  system  a  change  of  administration  makes 
no  apparent  disturbance,  yet  may  ultimately  involve  more 
actual  difference  of  policy  than  the  accession  of  a  monarch.  Of 
the  Vice  Presidents  who  have  succeeded  to  the  Presidency  hereto- 
fore, Tyler,  Fillmore  and  Johnson  broke  more  or  less  completely 
with  their  party  associations  and  the  change  frpm  Garfield  to 
Arthur  was  of  pronounced  effect. 

Jn  each  case  the  Vice  President  had  represented  a  different  fac- 
tion in  his  party  ;  but  there  is  no  such  recognized  division  in  the 
party  at  this  time  and  no  reason  to  anticipate  any  change  of 
policy  from  Mr.  Roosevelt  beyond  that  which  may  eventually 
result  from  his  own  different  temperament  and  that  pf  the  JJJSJ} 
he  is  likely  to  select  as  his  advisers. 

POWER  OF  EXECUTIVE  LJMITEP, 

The  absolute  power  of  the  President  is  limited  ;  his  influence 
is  great.  Mr,  Roosevelt  brings  to  the  office  an  experience  beyond 
his  years,  a  broad  culture  that  is  unusual  in  our  public  men,  an 
earnestness  and  energy  that  have  shown  in  many  fields  of  en- 
deavor, and  above  all,  a  burning  patriotism  that  is  inspired 
always  by  high  ideals  and  governed  by  a  courageous  uprightness 
that  cannot  fail  to  make  its  impression  on  our  public  life. 

He  is  not  untried  in  responsible  position,  and  he  always  has  car- 
ried himself  with  such  high  honor  that  we  need  not  fear  to  trust 
the  Chief  Magistracy  to  him,  confident  that  all  the  energy  of  his 
nature  and  the  strength  of  his  manly  character  will  be  devoted 
purely,  and  with  a  sober  sense  of  deep  responsibility,  to  the  unsel- 
fish service  of  the  nationr 

And  so,  amid  the  profound  sorrow  that  has  fallen  upon  us 
all,  the  nation  goep  on  its  way  in  confidence  and  hope.  Our  insti- 
tutions are  deep-rooted  beyond  the  reach  of  passing  change,  and 
the  integrity  and  devotion  of  the  national  conscience  will  hold  the 
country  safe  and  right  through  all  vicissitudes.. 


142 

place  in  our  history  is  secure.  His  administration  has  been  in 
many  ways  illustrious  and  the  work  that  was  given  him  to  do  was 
well  achieved.  Though  there  seemed  years  of  usefulness  yet 
before  him,  they  could  have  added  little  to  the  completeness  of  his 
fame  or  to  the  honor  in  which  his  memory  will  be  cherished  by 
his  countrymen. 

This  generation  of  Americans  has  suffered  no  public  grief  so 
poignant  as  that  which  filled  the  country.  The  death  of  Presi- 
dent McKinley  carried  into  every  patriotic  home  a  sorrow  such  as 
the  taking  off  of  very  few  public  men  has  ever  before  caused. 
The  cruelty  and  wantonness  of  the  murderous  deed,  committed 
upon  one  whose  life  had  been  signally  and  successfully  devoted 
to  the  service  of  his  country,  came  suddenly  like  a  personal 
blow  to  every  loyal  member  of  the  nation.  At  once  there  was  a 
short  season  of  anguish  and  despair. 

GREAT  JOY  AT  GOOD  NEWS. 

Then  quickly  followed  word  after  word  of  hope  and  cheer. 
The  sunshine  of  thanksgiving  began  to  chase  away  the  shadows 
of  gloom  and  suspense.  Gratitude  and  joy  were  breaking  forth 
from  millions  of  anxious  hearts  at  the  assured  prospect  that  the 
life  of  the  stricken  statesman  would  be  spared.  Suddenly,  in  the 
swiftness  of  a  single  night,  all  hope  was  dashed  to  the  ground,  and 
within  twenty-four  hours  his  soul  had  passed  into  the  impene- 
trable mystery. 

It  is  these  circumstances  which  have  peculiarly  deepened  the 
sadness  of  the  national  affliction.  Already  grievous  enough  as  it 
had  been,  it  had  yet  to  fall  upon  the  nation  with  the  redoubled 
force  of  a  second  calamity.  It  was  like  the  mockery  of  fate. 

For  in  this  memorable  week  of  the  tender  solicitude  of  a 
nation  for  its  fallen  chief,  it  had  come  to  see  and  understand 
him  as  he  really  was  in  his  career  and  character,  and  to  feel, 
after  all,  how  close  he  had  been  to  them  in  the  patriotic  fellow- 
ship of  their  hope  and  aspirations.  Indeed,  there  must  be  few 
of  his  countrymen  who  have  not  been  impressed  by  the  obvi- 
ous sincerity  of  the  popular  admiration  and  affection  for  him — 


AUTHOR   OF   THE  FAMOUS  TARIFF  BILL  143 

something  to  which,  in  our  time,  only  the  posthumous  memory  of 
Lincoln  is  a  parallel. 

And  when  hereafter  the  lamentations  over  a  great  loss  have 
subsided,  and  men  shall  come  to  pass  estimate  upon  the  life  of 
"William  McKinley  without  emotion,  they  will  pronounce  it  to 
have  been  worthy  in  its  simplicity  and  its  probity  of  comparison 
with  that  of  any  public  man  this  country  has  produced  at  any 
stage  of  its  history.  It  may  not  be  said  that  he  was  a  great  man 
in  the  usual  sense  of  the  term,  certainly  not  that  9  he  was  a 
genius  ;  but  it  will  be  said  that  in  his  relation  to  great  events  he 
acted  for  his  country  with  a  sagacity  which  genius  does  not 

possess. 

STERLING  COMMON  SENSE. 

In  his  sterling  common  sense  he  was  a  well  balanced  man. 
In  his  public  policies  he  was  eminently  successful.  Identified 
by  name,  personality  and  action  with  the  principles  of  protection ; 
its  unfailing  and  unselfish  champion,  even  when  it  seemed  that 
the  country  had  been  persuaded  to  abandon  it,  he  lived  to  see  it 
incorporated  into  the  affairs  of  the  government,  and  largely 
through  his  own  tenacity,  more  firmly  than  it  had  ever  been  ;  to 
administer  it  himself,  with  remarkable  results,  and  then  as  the 
very  last  act  of  his  career,  to  point  out  how  the  time  was  coming 
when  it  must  be  adopted  to  a  new  era  of  industrial  greatness. 

He  entered  the  Presidency  in  the  midst  of  the  gravest 
uncertainty  as  to  the  financial  future  of  the  United  States,  and  at  a 
a  time,  too,  when  men  who  did  not  understand  the  tact  and  patience 
of  his  statesmanship,  distrusted  his  ability  or  his  methods  in  settling 
the  issue.  Yet  he  worked  out  the  problem  of  adjusting  his  party 
to  fundamental  doctrines  of  financial  stability  and  honesty  so 
well  that  it  finally  became  a  unit  behind  him  ;  and  his  death  now 
raises  no  apprehension  of  a  crisis  or  even  of  insecurity,  over 
what,  only  five  years  ago,  was  a  chronic  source  of  alarm  and 
agitation. 

Pre-eminently  a  man  of  peace,  he  was  one  of  the  four  Presi- 
dents who  have  been  called  upon  to  conduct  war ;  and  he  was 
hurried  unexpectedly  into  the  consideration  of  problems  such  as 


144 

nad  confronted  none  of  his  predecessors  and  such  as  had  been 
largely  alien  to  his  own  study  and  experience.  He  met  them 
with  the  ability  of  a  man  who  "  grows  "  to  new  occasions  and  new 
duties.  In  the  Spanish  war  his  administration  surprised  the 
world  by  the  celerity  of  its  complete  success.  How  far  the  policy 
which  he  pursued  in  dealing  with  the  complicated  and  exceptional 
questions  growing  out  of  the  war  may  be  a  permanent  success 
can  only  be  determined  by  time.  But  it  is  certain  that  in  its 
general  features  it  has  been  in-  consonance  with  the  wishes  of  a 
large  majority  of  lis  countrymen. 

ENJOYED  UNUSUAL  CONFIDENCE. 

In  the  Presidency  Mr.  McKinley  came  gradually  but  surely 
to  earn  more  than  an  ordinary  share  of  personal  confidence.  Even 
his  opponents  in  party  leadership  liked  him  as  a  man.  This  was 
not  due  simply  to  his  personal  sympathy  and  cheerful  manners. 
It  was  the  result  also  of  a  respect  for  his  integrity  and  sincerity. 
It  arose,  too,  in  a  large  degree  from  observation  or  knowledge  of  a 
private  or  domestic  life  upon  which  even  all  the  malevolent  and 
careless  gossip  of  the  national  capital  never  east  a  shadow  of  dis* 
repute  and  which  has  helped  to  raise  the  standard  of  American 
manhood  in  contemplating  the  gentle,  yet  heroic  fidelity  of  his 
devotion  to  the  wife  of  his  youth. 

Yet — such  are  the  strange  caprices  of  our  destinies — it  has 
been  the  lot  of  such  a  man  to  die  a  cruel  death  when  still  in  the 
happy  vigor  of  his  years,  at  a  time  when  the  homes  of  his  country- 
men were  never  more  prosperous,  when  the  fame  of  the  Republic 
was  never  more  glorious,  and  when  he  himself  had  become  one  of 
the  most  respected  and  beloved  of  all  our  Presidents.  He  will  be 
long  remembered  with  affectionate  reverence  as  an  eminent 
American,  true  to  the  best  of  the  old  and  good  traditions  of  his 
land  and  as  a  victim  of  the  vilest  and  most  insensate  system  of 
political  malignancy  known  to  modern  times.  He  has  left  behind, 
too,  the  example  of  that  kindly  and  well-ordered  life  which 
may  face  even  so  sudden  and  piteous  a  fate  as  his  with  the 
noble  fortitude  of  those  midnight  words  in  his  last  agony, 


AUTHOR  OF  THE  FAMOUS  TARIFF  BILL.  145 

"Good  bye   all,    good  bye;   it  is   God's  way;  let  His  will,  not 

ours,  be  done." 

And  now,  in  this   solemn  hour,  the  Executive  power  ot 
Republic  passes  into  the  hands  of  a  citizen  who,  while  in  many 
respects  much  different  in  his  personal  attributes  from  the  fallen 
President,   has  also  many  of  the  best   virtues  of  an  American 
patriot      The  transition  will  be  peaceful  and  orderly,  and 
government  with  Theodore  Roosevelt  at  its  head,  will  suffer  no 

strain  or  shock. 

There  is  no  occasion  for  misgivings  or  distrust. 
President,  it  is  true,  is  only  forty-two  years  of  age— the  youngest 
man  that  has  ever  been  summoned  to  the  office  ;  and  in  ;the  inten 
sity    of  his  temperament  and  his  zeal  for  his  convictions,  he  has 
sometimes  betrayed  the  faults  of  impetuosity.     These  have  been 
the  outgrowth  of  a  spirit  that  has  not  been  incompatible  in  1 
past  with  high  and  useful  public   service.     Indeed,   with  a  con- 
siderable number  of  his  countrymen,  he  is  the  object  of  that 
enthusiastic  esteem  which  goes  with  unflinching  bravery  in  the 
pursuit  of  high  ideals. 

HIS  EDUCATION  AND  EXPERIENCE. 

It  is  to  be  remembered  that  he  has  been  engaged  in  public 
affairs  ever  since  his  youth,  that  education  as  well  as  experience  in 
important  trusts  qualify  him  for  the  nation's  service,  and  that  m 
the  exercise  of  such  an  administrative  trust  as  the  Governorship 
of  the  first  State  of  the  Union,  he  emerged  from  it  with  a  clean, 
honorable  and  creditable  record. 

With  every  essential  policy  of  the  administration  he  has  bee 
in  complete  accord,  and  there  will  unquestionably  be  no  departure 
from   these   policies,    whatever  may  be   ultimately  the  changes 
among  his  constitutional  advisers. 

In  the  meantime  let  President  Roosevelt  have  the  full  benefit 
of  an  immediate  recognition  of  his  obviously  patriotic  qualities  as 
a  man.  In  meeting  his  new  responsibilities  the  nation  should  be 
forbearing  in  criticism  founded  upon  past  judgments.^  Let  it 
exercise  that  moderation  and  that  charity  of  speech  which  ever 


146  AUTHOR  OF  THE  FAMOUS  TARIFF  BILL. 

marked  the  life  of  the  patriot  who  has  passed  to  his  eternal 
rest. 

Following  are  some  of  the  notable  sentiments  in  the  Presi- 
dent's speech  at  the  Pan-American  Exposition  at  Buffalo,  Sep- 
tember 5,  which  were  received  with  great  enthusiasm  : 

"Expositions  are  the  timekeepers  of  progress. 

"  The  wisdom  and  energy  of  all  the  nations  are  none  too  great 
for  the  world's  work. 

11  Isolation  is  no  longer  possible,  or  desirable. 

"We  must  not  rest  in  fancied  security  that  we  will  forever 
sell  everything  and  buy  little  or  nothing. 

"  The  period  of  exclusiveness  is  past.  The  expansion  of  our 
trade  and  commerce  is  the  pressing  problem. 

"  Reciprocity  treaties  are  in  harmony  with  the  spirit  of  the 
times  ;  measures  of  retaliation  are  not. 

"  We  must  encourage  our  merchant  marine.  We  must  have 
more  ships.  They  must  be  under  the  American  flag. 

"  We  must  build  an  Isthmian  canal. 

"  The  construction  of  a  Pacific  cable  can  be  no  longer  post- 
poned. 

"This  exposition  would  have  touched  the  heart  of  that 
American  statesman  whose  mind  was  ever  alert  and  thought  ever 
constant  for  a  larger  commerce  and  a  truer  fraternity  of  the 
Republics  of  the  new  world.  He  needs  no  identification  to  an 
assemblage  of  Americans  everywhere,  for  the  name  of  Elaine  is 
inseparably  associated  with  the  Pan-American  movement." 


CHAPTER  VII. 

Important  State  Papers  and  Speeches  of  President  McKin- 
ley — Message  to  Congress  on  the  War  in  Cuba — Ad- 
dresses at  Peace  Jubilees. 

A  MOURNFUL  interest  now  attaches  to  President  McKinley's 
last  public  address.  It  was  delivered  on  Thursday,  Septem- 
ber 5th,  to  a  great  throng  at  Buffalo.  From  his  entry  to  the 
Exposition  grounds  soon  after  ten  o'clock  in  the  morning  until 
the  dying  out  of  the  lights  of  the  illumination  of  the  grounds  and 
buildings  at  night,  the  day  at  the  Pan-American  Exposition  -was 
a  long  ovation  to  President  McKinley. 

As  the  President,  accompanied  by  Mrs.  McKinley,  Mrs.  Will- 
iam Hamlin,  of  the  Board  of  Women  Managers,  and  John  G. 
Milburn,  drove  to  the  Lincoln  Parkway  entrance,  they  were  met 
by  detachments  of  United  States  marines  and  the  seacoast  artillery, 
and  the  Sixty-fifth  and  Seventy-fourth  New  York  regiments  under 
General  S.  M.  Welcix.  A  President's  salute  of  twenty-one  guns 
was  fired.  The  great  crowd  which  covered  the  esplanade  before 
the  grand  stand,  a  quarter  of  a  mile  square,  overflowed  into  the 
Court  of  Fountains.  There  were  more  than  30,000  who  joined  in 
the  cheers  that  greeted  the  President  as  he  assisted  Mrs.  McKin- 
le}'  from  the  carriage  to  the  stand,  where  wtr^  seated  many  dis- 
tinguished persons,  among  them  the  representatives  of  Mexico 
and  most  of  the  Central  and  South  American  republics. 

There  was  almost  absolute  quiet  when  Mr.  Milburn  arose  and 
said  simply  : — "  Ladies  and  gentlemen — The  President." 

Cheers  again  drowned  all  else.  When  they  had  subsided  the 
President  began  his  address. 

After  welcoming  the  representatives  of  other  nations,  praising 
expositions  in  general  as  the  "timekeepers  of  progress,"  and  not- 
ing the  benefits  to  be  derived  from  comparison  of  products  and 
friendly  competition,  the  President  referred  to  the  march  of  im- 
provement and  invention  with  reference  to  its  effect  upon  the 

147 


143  STATE   PAPERS  AND   SPEECHES. 

world's  commerce  and  moral  and  material  advancement.  He 
referred  also  to  the  growing  disposition  to  settle  international 
differences  in  the  conrt  of  arbitration,  the  "  noblest  forum  "  for 
the  settlement  of  such  disputes.  He  then  said  : — 

"  My  fellow  citizens,  trade  statistics  indicate  that  this  country 
is  in  a  state  of  unexampled  prosperity.  The  figures  are  almost 
appalling.  They  show  that  we  are  utilizing  our  fields  and  forests 
and  mines,  and  that  we  are  furnishing  profitable  employment  to 
the  millions  of  workingmen  throughout  the  United  States  bringing 
comfort  and  happiness  to  their  homes,  and  making  it  possib1  to 
lay  by  savings  for  old  age  and  disability. 

PROSPERITY  EVERYWHERE. 

"That  all  the  people  are  participating  in  this  great  prosperity 
is  seen  in  every  American  community,  and  shown  by  the  enor- 
mous and  unprecedented  deposits  in  our  savings  banks.  Our  duty 
in  the  care  and  security  of  these  deposits  and  their  safe  invest- 
ment demands  the  highest  integrity  and  the  best  business 
capacity. 

"Our  industrial  enterpises,  which  have  grown  to  such  great 
proportions,  affect  the  homes  and  occupations  of  the  people  and  the 
welfare  of  the  country.  Our  capacity  to  produce  has  developed  so 
enormously  and  our  products  have  so  multiplied  that  the  problem 
of  more  markets  requires  out  urgent  and  immediate  attention. 

'  We  must  not  repose  in  fancied  security  that  we  can  forever 
sell  everything  and  buy  little  or  nothing.  Reciprocity  is  th(. 
natural  outgrowth  of  our  wonderful  industrial  development  under 
the  domestic  policy  now  firmly  established. 

'What  we  produce  beyond  our  domestic  consumption  must 
have  a  vent  abroad.  The  excess  must  be  relieved  through  a 
foreign  outlet,  and  we  should  sell  everywhere  we  can  and  buy 
wherever  the  buying  will  enlarge  our  sales  and  productions,  and 
thereby  make  a  greater  demand  for  home  labor. 

'  The  period  of  exclusiveness  is  past.  The  expansion  of  our 
trade  and  commerce  is  the  pressing  problem.  Commercial  wars 
are  unprofitable.  A  policy  of  good  will  and  friendly  trade  rela- 


STATE   PAPERS  AND   SPEECHES.  149 


tions  will  prevent  reprisals.  Reciprocity  treaties  are  in  harmony 
with  the  spirit  of  the  times;  measures  of  retaliation  are  not.  If, 
perchance,  some  of  our  tariffs  are  no  longer  needed  for  revenue  or 
to  encourage  and  protect  our  industries  at  home,  why  should  they 
not  be  employed  to  extend  and  promote  our  markets  abroad? 

"Then  too,  we  have  inadequate  steamship  service, 
lines  of  steamships  have  already  been  put  in  commission  between 
the  Pacific  coast  ports  oi  the  United  States  and  those  on  the  west- 
ern  coasts  of  Mexico  and  Central  and  South  America.  Tnese 
should  be  followed  up  with  direct  steamship  lines  between  the 
western  coast  of  the  United  States  and  South  American  ports. 

"We   must   have  more  ships.      They  must   be   under   the 
American  flag,  built  and  manned  and  owned  by  Americans.    These 
will  not  only  be  profitable  in  a  commercial  sense;  they  wil 
messengers  of  peace  and  amity  wherever  they  go. 

LARGER  COMMERCE  AND  TRUER  FRATERNITY. 
«  We  must  build  the  isthmian  canal,  which  will  unite  the  two 
oceans  and  give  a  straight  line  of  water  communication  with  the 
western  coasts  of  Central  and  South  America  and  Mexico, 
construction  of  a  Pacific  cable  cannot  be  longer  postponed. 

"This    Exposition  would  have   touched   the   heart   of 
American  statesman  whose  mind  was  ever  alert  and  thought  ever 
constant  for  a  larger  commerce  and  a  truer  fraternity  of  ^the  repul> 
lies  of  the  New  World.     His  broad  American  spirit 

manifested  here. 

"He  needs  no  identification  to  an  assemblage  of  Americans 
anywhere,  for  the  name  of  Blaine  is  inseparably  associated  with 
the  Pan-American  movement,  which  finds  here  practical  and  sub- 
stantial expression,  and  which  we  all  hope  will  be  firmly  advanced 
by  the  Pan-American  Congress  that  assembles  this  autumn 

capital  of  Mexico. 

"  Let  us  ever  remember  that  our  interest  is  in  concord,  r 
conflict ;  and  that  our  real  eminence  rests  in  the  victories  of  peace, 

not  those  of  war. 

"Our  earnest  prayer  is  that  God  will  graciously  vo 


150  STATE  PAPERS  AND  SPEECHES. 

prosperity,  happiness  and  peace  to  all  our  neighbors,  and  like 
blessings  to  all  the  peoples  and  powers  of  earth." 

President  McKinley's  reference  to  the  establishment  of  recip- 
rocal treaties,  the  necessity  of  building  an  isthmian  canal  and  a 
Pacific  cable,  and  his  reference  to  the  work  of  Mr.  Elaine  in  the 
carrying  out  of  the  Pan- American  idea  brought  forth  especially 
enthusiastic  applause.  Upon  the  conclusion  of  his  address  the 
President  held  an  impromptu  reception  for  fifteen  minutes. 

Mr.  McKinley's  statesmanlike  ability  in  dealing  with  great 
public  questions  was  shown  on  many  occasions.  This  appeared 
especially  during  the  events  preceding  our  war  with  Spain.  His 
message  to  Congress  on  April  n,  1898,  is  a  masterpiece  of  its 

kind. 

MESSAGE  ON  THE  CUBAN   QUESTION. 

We  reproduce  the  message  here,  as  it  contains  a  concise  state- 
ment of  the  matters  in  controversy,  and  is  an  important  State, 
paper  which  every  person  who  would  be  well  informed  will  desire 
to  preserve. 

"  To  THE  CONGRESS  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES  : 

"  Obedient  to  that  precept  of  the  Constitution  which  com- 
mands the  President  to  give,  from  time  to  time,  to  the  Congress 
information  of  the  state  of  the  Union,  and  to  recommend  to  their 
consideration  such  measures  as  he  shall  judge  necessary  and  ex- 
pedient, it  becomes  my  duty  now  to  address  your  body  with  regard 
to  the  grave  crisis  that  has  arisen  in  the  relations  of  the  United 
States  to  Spain  by  reason  of  the  warfare-that  for  more  than  three 
years  has  raged  in  the  neighboring  island  of  Cuba. 

"  I  do  so,  because  of  the  intimate  connection  of  the  Cuban 
question  with  the  state  our  own  Union,  and  the  grave  relation  the 
course  which  it  is  now  incumbent  upon  the  nation  to  adopt,  must 
needs  bear  to  the  traditional  policy  of  our  Government,  if  it  is  to 
accord  with  the  precepts  laid  down  by  the  founders  of  the  Repub- 
lic, and  religiously  observed  by  succeeding  administrations  to  the 
present  day. 

"  The  present  revolution  is  but  the  successor  of  other  similar 


STATE  PAPERS  AND   SPEECHES. 

insurrections  which  have  occurred  in  Cuba  against  the  dominion 
of  Spain,  extending  over  a  period  of  nearly  half  a  centuty,  each 
of  which,  during  its  progress,  has  subjected  the  United  States  to 
gr~at  e-Tort  and  expense  in  enforcing  its  neutrality  laws,  caused 
enormous  losses  to  American  trade  and  commerce,  caused  irrita- 
tion, annoyance  and  disturbance  among  our  citizens,  and  by  the 
exercise  of  cruel,  barbarous  and  uncivilized  practices  of  warfare, 
shocked  the  sensibilities  and  offended  the  humane  sympathies  of 
our  people. 

"Since  the  present  revolution  began,  in  February,  18^5,  this 
country  has  seen  the  fertile  domain  of  our  threshold  ravaged  by 
fire  and  sword  in  the  course  of  a  struggle  unequalled  in  the 
history  of  the  island,  and  rarely  paralleled  as  to  the  number  of 
the  combatants  and  the  bitterness  of  the  contest  by  any  revolu- 
tion of  modern  times,  where  a  determined  people  striving  to  be 
free  have  been  oppressed  by  the  power  of  the  sovereign  State. 

COMMERCE    PARALYZED. 

"  Our  people  have  beheld  a  once  prosperous  community  re- 
duced to  comparative  want,  its  lucrative  commerce  virtually  para- 
lyzed, its  exceptional  productiveness  diminished,  its  fields  laid 
waste,  its  mills  in  ruins,  and  its  people  perishing  by  tens  of  thou- 
sands from,  hunger  and  destitution.  We  have  found  ourselves 
constrained,  in  the  observance  of  that  strict  neutrality  which  our 
laws  enjoin,  and  which  the  law  of  nations  commands,  to  police 
our  waters  and  watch  our  own  seaports  in  prevention  of  any 
unlawful  act  in  aid  of  the  Cubans. 

"Our  trade  has  suffered,  the  capital  invested  by  our  citizens 
in  Cuba  has  been  largely  lost,  and  the  temper  and  forbearance  of 
our  people  have  been  so  seriously  tried  as  to  beget  a  perilous 
unrest  among  our  own  citizens,  which  has  inevitably  found  its 
expression  from  time  to  time  in  the  National  Legislature,  so  that 
issues,  wholly  external  to  our  own  body  politic,  stand  in  the  way 
of  that  close  devotion  to  domestic  advancement  that  becomes  a 
self-contained  Commonwealth,  whose  primal  maxim  has  been  the 
avoidance  of  all  foreign  entanglements,  All  this  must  need§ 


152  STATE  PAPERS  AND   SPEECHES. 

awaken,  and  has,  indeed,  aroused  the  utmost  concern  on  the  part 
of  this  government  as  well  during  my  predecessor's  term  as  in 
my  own. 

"  In  April,  1896,  the  evils  from  which  our  country  suffered 
through  the  Cuban  war  became  so  onerous  that  my  predecessor 
made  an  effort  to  bring  about  a  peace  through  the  mediation  of 
this  Government  in  any  way  that  might  tend  to  an  honorable 
adjustment  of  the  contest  between  Spain  and  her  revolted  colony, 
on  the  basis  of  some  effective  scheme  of  self-government  for  Cuba 
under  the  flag  and  sovereignty  of  Spain.  It  failed,  through  the 
refusal  of  the  Spanish  Government,  then  in  power,  to  consider 
any  form  of  mediation  or,  indeed,  any  plan  of  settlement  which 
did  not  begin  with  the  actual  submission  of  the  insurgents  to  the 
mother  country,  and  then  only  on  such  terms  as  Spain  herself 
might  see  fit  to  grant.  The  war  continued  unabated  .The  resist- 
ance of  the  insurgents  was  in  no  wise  diminished. 

HORRORS  OF  INHUMAN  STRIFE. 

"  The  efforts  of  Spain  were  increased  both  by  the  despatch 
of  fresh  levies  to  Cuba  and  by  the  addition  to  the  horrors  of  the 
strife  of  a  new  and  inhuman  phase,  happily  unprececlent  in 
the  modern  histories  of  civilized  Christian  peoples.  The  policy 
of  devastation  and  concentration  by  the  Captain-General's  bando 
of  October,  1896,  in  the  province  of  Pinar  del  Rio  was  thence 
extended  to  embrace  all  of  the  island  to  which  the  power  of  the 
Spanish  arms  was  able  to  reach  by  occupation  or  by  military 
operations. 

"  The  peasantry,  including  all  dwelling  in  the  open  agricul- 
tural interior,  were  driven  into  the  garrison  towns  or  isolated 
places  held  by  the  troops.  The  raising  and  moving  of  provisions 
of  all  kinds  were  interdicted.  The  fields  were  laid  waste,  dwel- 
lings unroofed  and  fired,  mills  destroyed,  and,  in  short,  everything 
that  could  desolate  the  land  and  render  it  unfit  for  human 
habitation  or  support,  was  commanded  by  one  or  the  other  of  the 
contending  parties  aud  executed  by  all  the  powers  at  their 


STATE  PAPERS  AND   SPEECHES.  153 

11  By  the  time  the  present  Administration  took  office  a  year 
ago,  reconcentration— so-called — had  been  made  effective  over  the 
better  part  of  the  four  central  and  western  provinces,  Santa  Clara, 
Mantanzas,  Havana  and  Pinar  del  Rio.  The  agricultural  popu- 
lation, to  the  estimated  number  of  300,000  or  more,  was  herded 
within  the  towns  and  their  immediate  vicinage,  deprived  of  the 
means  of  support,  rendered  destitute  of  shelter,  left  poorly  clad, 
and  exposed  to  the  most  unsanitary  conditions.  As  the  scarcity 
of  food  increased  with  the  devastation  of  the  depopulated  areas 
of  production,  destitution  and  want  became  misery  and  star- 
vation. 

"  Month  by  month  the  death  rate  increased  in  an  alarming 
ratio.  By  March,  1897,  according  to  conservative  estimate  from 
official  Spanish  sources,  the  mortality  among  the  reconcentrados, 
from  starvation  and  the  diseases  thereto  incident,  exceeded  50 
per  centum  of  their  total  number.  No  practical  relief  was  ac- 
corded to  the  destitute.  The  overburdened  towns,  already  suffer- 
ing from  the  general  dearth,  could  give  no  aid. 

CONFRONTED  WITH  GRAVE  PROBLEMS. 

"  In  this  state  of  affairs  my  administration  found  itself 
confronted  with  the  grave  problems  of  its  duty.  My  message  of 
last  December  reviewed  the  situation,  and  narrated  the  steps  taken 
with  a  view  to  relieving  its  acuteness  and  opening  the  way  to 
some  form  of  honorable  settlement.  The  assassination  of  the 
Prime  Minister,  Canovas,  led  to  a  change  of  Government  in 
Spain.  The  former  administration  pledged  to  subjugation  with- 
out concession,  gave  place  to  that  of  a  more  liberal  party,  com- 
mitted long  in  advance  to  a  policy  of  reform  involving  the  wider 
principle  of  home  rule  for  Cuba  and  Porto  Rico. 

"  The  overtures  of  this  Government,  made  through  its  new 
Envoy,  General  Woodford,  and  looking  to  an  immediate  and 
effective  amelioration  of  the  condition  of  the  island,  although 
not  accepted  to  the  extent  of  admitted  mediation  in  any  shape, 
were  met  by  assurances  that  home  rule,  in  an  advanced  phase, 
would  be  forthwith  offered  to  Cuba,  without  waiting  for  the  war 


154  STATE  PAPERS  AND   SPEECHES. 

to  end,  and  that  more  humane  methods  should  henceforth  prevail 
in  the  conduct  of  hostilities. 

"While  these  negotiations  were  in  progress  the  increasing 
destitution  of  the  unfortunate  reconcentrados  and  the  alarming 
mortality  among  them  claimed  earnest  attention.  The  success 
which  had  attended  the  limited  measure  of  relief  extended  to  the 
suffering  American  citizens  among  them  by  the  judicious  expen- 
diture through  the  Consular  agencies  of  the  money  appropriated 
expressly  for  their  succor  by  the  joint  resolution  approved  May 
24,  1897,  prompted  the  humane  extension  of  a  similar  scheme  of 
aid  to  the  great  body  of  sufferers. 

"A  suggestion  to  this  end  was  acquiesced  in  by  the  Spanish, 
authorities.  On  the  24th  of  December  last  I  caused  to  be  issued 
an  appeal  to  the  American  people  inviting  contributions  in  money 
or  in  kind  for  the  succor  of  the  starving  sufferers  in  Cuba,  follow- 
ing this  on  the  8th  of  January  by  a  similar  public  announcement 
of  the  formation  of  a  Central  Cuban  Relief  Committee,  with  head- 
quarters in  New  York  City,  com  posed  of  three  members  represent- 
ing the  National  Red  Cross  and  the  religious  and  business  elements 
of  the  community. 

SPAIN'S  FRIENDLY  FEELING. 

<(  Coincidently  with  these  declarations,  the  new  Government 
of  Spain  continued  to  complete  the  policy  already  begun  by  its 
predecessor  of  testifying  friendly  regard  for  this  nation  by  releas- 
ing American  citizens  held  under  one  charge  or  another  connected 
with  the  insurrection,  so  that  by  the  end  of  November  not  a  single 
person  entitled  in  any  way  to  our  national  protection  remained  in 
a  Spanish  prison. 

'The  war  in  Cuba  is  of  such  a  nature  that  short  of  subju- 
gation or  extermination  a  final  military  victory  for  either  side 
seems  impracticable.  The  alternative  lies  in  the  physical 
exhaustion  of  the  one  or  the  other  party,  or,  perhaps,  of  both — a 
condition  which  in  effect  ended  the  ten  years'  war  by  the  truce  of 
Zanjon.  The  prospect  of  such  a  protraction  and  conclusion  of 
the  present  strife  is  a  contingency  hardly  to  be  contemplated  with 


STATE  PAPERS  AND  SPEECHES.  155 

equanimity  by  the  civilized  world,  and  least  of  all  by  the  United 
States,  affected  and  injured  as  we  are,  deeply  and  intimately,  by 
its  very  existence. 

•'  Realizing  this,  it  appeared  to  be  my  duty  in  a  spirit  of  true 
friendliness,  no  less  to  Spain  than  to  the  Cubans  who  have  so 
much  to  lose  by  the  prolongation  of  the  struggle,  to  seek  to  bring 
about  an  immediate  termination  of  the  war.  To  this  end  I  sub- 
mitted on  the  2yth  ultimo,  as  a  result  of  much  representation 
and  correspondence  through  the  United  States  Minister  at 
Madrid,  propositions  to  the  Spanish  Government  looking  to  an 
armistice  until  October  i,  for  the  negotiations  of  peace  with  the 
good  offices  of  the  President. 

"In  addition,  I  asked  the  immediate  revocation  of  the  order 
of  reconcentration  so  as  to  permit  the  people  to  return  to  their 
farms,  and  the  needy  to  be  relieved  with  provisions  and  supplies 
from  the  United  States,  co-operating  with  the  Spanish  authorities 
so  as  to  afford  full  relief. 

OFFER  OF  THE  SPANISH  CABINET. 

"The  reply  of  the  Spanish  Cabinet  was  received  on  the 
night  of  the  3ist  ultimo.  It  offers  as  the  means  to  bring  about 
peace  in  Cuba,  to  confide  the  preparation  thereof  to  the  Insular 
Parliament,  inasmuch  as  the  concurrence  of  that  body  would  be 
necessary  to  reach  a  final  result,  it  being,  however,  understood 
that  the  powers  reserved  by  the  Constitution  to  the  Central  Gov- 
ernment are  not  lessened  or  diminished.  As  the  Cuban  Parlia- 
ment does  not  meet  until  the  4th  of  May  next,  the  Spanish  Gov- 
ernment would  not  object  for  its  part  to  accept  at  once  a  suspen- 
sion of  hostilities  if  asked  for  by  the  insurgents  from  the  Gene- 
ral-in-Chief, to  whom  it  would  pertain  in  such  case  to  determine 
the  duration  and  conditions  of  the  armistice. 

"  The  propositions  submitted  by  General  Woodford  and  the 
reply  of  the  Spanish  Government  were  both  in  the  form  of  brief 
memoranda,  the  texts  of  which  are  before  me,  and  are  substan- 
tially in  the  language  above  given. 

"  There  remain  the  alternative  forms  of  intervention  to  end 


156  STATE   PAPERS   AND  SPEECHES. 

the  war,  either  as  an  impartial  neutral  by  imposing  a  rational 
compromise  between  the  contestants  or  as  the  active  ally  of  the 
one  party  or  the  other. 

"  As  to  the  first,  it  is  not  to  be  forgotten  that  during  the  last 
few  months  the  relation  of  the  United  States  has  virtually  been 
one  of  friendly  intervention  in  many  ways,  each  not  of  itself 
conclusive,  but  all  tending  to  the  exertion  of  a  potential  influence 
toward  an  ultimate  pacific  result  just  and  honorable  to  all  inter- 
ests concerned.  The  spirit  of  all  our  acts  hitherto  has  been  an 
earnest,  unselfish  desire  for  peace  and  prosperity  in  Cuba,  untar- 
nished by  differences  between  us  and  Spain  and  unstained  by  the 
blood  of  American  citizens. 

HOPELESS  SACRIFICE  OF  LIFE. 

"  The  forcible  intervention  of  the  United  States  as  a  neutral, 
to  stop  the  war,  according  to  the  large  dictates  of  humanity  and 
following  many  historical  precedents  where  neighboring  States 
have  interfered  to  check  the  hopeless  sacrifices  of  life  by  inter- 
necine conflicts  beyond  their  borders,  is  justifiable  on  rational 
grounds.  It  involves,  however,  hostile  constraint  upon  both  the 
parties  to  the  contest  as  well  to  enforce  a  truce  as  to  guide  the 
eventual  settlement. 

"  The  grounds  for  such  intervention  may  be  briefly  summar- 
ized as  follows  :  First.  In  the  cause  of  humanity  and  to  put  an 
end  to  the  barbarities,  bloodshed,  starvation,  and  horrible  miseries 
now  existing  there,  and  which  the  parties  to  the  conflict  are  either 
unable  to  or  unwilling  to  stop  or  mitigate.  It  is  no  answer  to  say 
this  is  all  in  another  country,  belonging  to  another  nation,  and  is 
therefore  none  of  our  business.  It  is  specially  our  duty,  for  it  is 
right  at  our  door. 

"Second.  We  owe  it  to  our  citizens  in  Cuba  to  afford  them 
that  protection  and  indemnity  for  life  and  property  which  no  gov- 
ernment there  can  or  will  afford,  and  to  that  end  to  terminate  the 
conditions  that  deprive  them  of  legal  protection. 

'  Third.     The  right  to  intervene  may  be  justified  by  the  very 
serious  injury  to  the  commerce,  trade  and  business  of  our  people, 


STATE  PAPERS  AND  SPEECHES.  157 

and  by  the  wanton  destruction  of  property  and  devastation  of  the 
island. 

"  Fourth.  Aid,  which  is  of  the  utmost  importance.  The 
present  condition  of  affairs  in  Cuba  is  a  constant  menace  to  our 
peace  and  entails  upon  this  government  an  enormous  expense. 
With  such  a  conflict  waged  for  years  in  an  island  so  near  us  and 
with  which  our  people  have  such  trade  and  business  relations ; 
where  the  lives  and  liberty  of  our  citizens  are  in  constant  danger 
and  their  property  destroyed  and  themselves  ruined  ;  where  our 
trading  vessels  are  liable  to  seizure  and  are  seized  at  our  very  door 
by  warships  of  a  foreign  nation  ;  the  expeditions  of  filibustering 
that  we  are  powerless  altogether  to  prevent,  and  the  irritating 
questions  and  entanglements  thus  arising — all  these  and  others 
that  I  need  not  mention,  with  the  resulting  strained  relations,  are  a 
constant  menace  to  our  peace  and  compel  us  to  keep  on  a  semi-war 
footing  with  a  nation  with  which  we  are  at  peace. 

DESTRUCTION  OF  THE  BATTLESHIP  MAINE. 

"  These  elements  of  danger  and  disorder  already  pointed  out 
have  been  strikingly  illustrated  by  a  tragic  event  which  has  deeply 
and  j  ustly  moved  the  American  people.  I  have  already  trans- 
mitted to  Congress  the  report  of  the  Naval  Court  of  Inquiry  on  the 
destruction  of  the  battleship  "Maine"  in  the  harbor  of  Havana, 
during  the  night  of  the  fifteenth  of  February.  The  destruction 
of  that  noble  vessel  has  filled  the  national  heart  with  inexpressible 
horror.  Two  hundred  and  sixty-six  brave  sailors  and  marines  and 
two  officers  of  our  navy,  reposing  in  the  fancied  security  of  a 
friendly  harbor,  have  been  hurled  to  death;  grief  and  want  brought 
to  their  homes  and  sorrow  to  the  nation. 

"  The  Naval  Court  of  Inquiry,  which,  it  is  needless  to  say, 
commands  the  unqualified  confidence  of  the  Government,  was 
unanimous  in  its  conclusions  that  the  destruction  of  the  "  Maine" 
was  caused  by  an  exterior  explosion — that  of  a  submarine  mine. 
It  did  not  assume  to  place  the  responsibility.  That  remains  to  be 
fixed. 

"  In  any  event  the  destruction  of  the  <kMaine,"  by  whatever 


158 


STATE   PAPERS  AND  SPEECHES. 


exterior  cause,  is  a  patent  and  impressive  proof  of  a  state  of  things 
in  Cuba  that  is  intolerable.  That  condition  is  thus  shown  to  be 
such  that  the  Spanish  Government  cannot  assure  safety  and 
security  to  a  vessel  of  the  American  Navy  in  the  harbor  of 
Hrvana  on  a  mission  of  peace  and  rightfully  there. 

'4  Further  referring  in  this  connection  to  recent  diplomatic 
correspondence,  a  despatch  from  our  Minister  to  Spain,  of  the  26th 
ultimo,  contained  the  statement  that  the  Spanish  Minister  for 
Foreign  Affairs  assured  him  positively  that  Spain  will  do  all  that 
the  highest  honor  and  justice  required  in  the  matter  of  the  "Maine." 
The  reply  above  referred  to  of  the  3ist  ultimo  also  contained  an 
expression  of  the  readiness  of  Spain  to  submit  to  an  arbitration  all 
the  differences  which  can  arise  in  this  matter,  which  is  subse- 
quently explained  by  the  note  of  the  Spanish  Minister  at  Wash- 
ington of  the  loth  instant,  as  follows  : 

"  'As  to  the  question  of  fact  which  springs  from  the  diversity 
of  views  between  the  report  of  the  American  and  Spanish  boards, 
Spain  proposes  that  the  fact  be  ascertained  by  an  impartial  in- 
vestigation by  experts,  whose  decision  Spain  accepts  in  advance.' 
To  this  I  have  made  no  reply. 

"WAR  IN  CUBA  MUST  STOP." 

Cl  In  the  name  of  humanity,  in  the  name  of  civilization,  in 
behalf  of  endangered  American  interests  which  give  us  the  right 
to  speak  and  to  act,  the  war  in  Cuba  must  stop. 

"  In  view  of  these  facts  and  of  these  considerations,  I  ask  the 
Congress  to  authorize  and  empower  the  President  to  take  measures 
to  secure  a  full  and  final  termination  of  hostilities  between  the 
government  of  Spain  and  the  people  of  Cuba,  and  to  secure  in 
the  island  the  establishment  of  a  stable  government,  capable  of 
maintaining  order  and  observing  its  international  obligations, 
insuring  peace  and  tranquillity,  and  the  security  of  its  citizens  as 
well  as  our  own,  and  to  use  the  military  and  naval  forces  of  the 
United  States  as  may  be  necessary  for  these  purposes. 

"  And  in  the  interest  of  humanity,  and  to  aid  in  preserving 
the  lives  of  the  starving  people  of  the  island,  I  recommend  that 


STATE   PAPERS  AND  SPEECHES.  150 

the  distribution  of  the  food  and  'supplies  be  continued,  and  that  an 
appropriation  be  made  out  of  the  public  treasury  to  supplement 
the  charity  of  our  citizens.  The  issue  is  now  with  Congress.  It 
is  a  solemn  responsibility.  I  have  exhausted  every  effort  to  relieve 
the  intolerable  condition  of  affairs  which  is  at  our  doors. 

"  Prepared  to  execute  every  obligation  imposed  upon  me  by 
the  Constitution  and  the  law,  I  await  your  action. 

"Since  the  preparation  of  the  foregoing  message  official  infor- 
mation was  received  by  me  that  the  latest  decree  of  the  Queen 
Regent  of  Spain  directs  General  Blanco,  in  order  to  prepare  and 
facilitate  peace,  to  proclaim  a  suspension  of  hostilities,  the  duration 
and  details  of  which  have  not  yet  been  communicated  to  me.  This 
fact,  with  every  other  pertinent  consideration,  will,  I  am  sure,  have 
your  just  and  careful  attention  in  the  solemn  deliberations  upon 
which  you  are  about  to  enter.  If  this  measure  attains  a  success- 
ful result,  then  our  aspirations  as  a  Christian  peace-loving  people 
will  be  realized.  If  it  fails,  it  will  be  only  another  justification  for 
our  contempleted  action.  WILLIAM  McKINLBY. 

"  Executive  Mansion,  April  n,  1898." 

INTOLERABLE  CONDITIONS  IN  CUBA. 

The  causes  stated  in  the  President's  message  constituted  the 
real  occasion  for  war  between  the  United  States  and  Spain.  It 
was  felt  that  the  condition  of  the  people  of  Cuba  could  no  longer 
be  tolerated,  especially  as  it  involved  the  rights  of  American  citi- 
zens and  endangered  our  commercial  relations.  Our  citizens  were 
liable  to  arrest  on  suspicion  of  sympathizing  with  the  insurgents. 
Their  property,  in  many  instances,  had  been  wantonly  destroyed, 
and  they  had  been  compelled  to  suffer  disaster  from  fire  and  sword. 
It  was  not  in  the  nature  of  things  that  such  outrages  should  con- 
tinue without  arousing  public  indignation  and  creating  a  demand 
that  these  atrocities  should  be  discontinued  even  at  the  cost  of  war. 

During  the  progress  of  hostilities  with  Spain  the  President 
showed  in  every  way  his  appreciation  of  the  brave  demeanor  of 
the  American  soldiers  who  promptly  responded  to  their  country's 
call. 


STATE  PAPERS  AND  SPEECHES. 


he  following  official  correspondence  between  Presldem 
McKinley  and  General  Breckinridge,  in  which  the  President 
pays  tribute  to  the  troops  who  could  not  be  sent  to  the  front  was 
made  public  August  I2th. 

"  CHICKAMAUGA  PARK,  GA.,  Aug.  10,  1898. 
"THE  PRESIDENT: 

"  May  I  not  ask  you,  in  the  name  and  behalf  of  the  forty 
thousand  men  of  this  command,  to  visit  it  while  it  is  still  intact  ? 
There  is  much  to  be  said  showing  how  beneficial  and  needed  such 
a  visit  is  ;  but  you  will  appreciate  better  than  I  can  tell  you  the 
disappointment  and  consequent  depression  many  men  must  feel, 
especially  the  sick,  when  they  joined  together  for  a  purpose,  and 
have  done  so  much  to  show  their  readiness  and  worthiness  to 
serve  their  country  in  the  field,  but  find  themselves  leaving  the 
military  service  without  a  battle  or  campaign.  All  who  see  fJieru 
must  recognize  their  merit  and  personal  interest,  must  encourage 
all  if  you  can  find  time  to  review  this  command. 

"BRECKINRIDGE,  Major  General  Commanding." 

The  following  was  the  President's  reply  : 

"  EXECUTIVE  MANSION,  Washington,  Aug.  n,  1898. 
"  MAJOR  GENERAL  BRECKINRIDGE,  Chickamauga  Park  : 

11  Replying  to  your  invitation  I  beg  to  say  that  it  would  give 
me  great  pleasure  to  show  by  a  personal  visit  to  Chickamauga 
Park  my  high  regard  for  the  forty  thousand  troops  of  your  com- 
mand, who  so  patriotically  responded  to  the  call  for  volunteers 
and  who  have  been  for  upwards  of  two  months  ready  for  any 
service  and  sacrifice  the  country  might  require.  My  duties,  how- 
ever, will  not  admit  of  absence  from  Washington  at  this  time. 

''The  highest  tribute  that  can  be  paid  to  a  soldier  is  to  say 
that  he  performed  his  full  duty.  The  field  of  duty  is  determined 
by  his  government,  and  wherever  that  chances  to  be  is  the  place 
of  honor.  All  have  helped  in  the  great  cause,  whether  in  camp 
or  battle,  and  when  peace  comes  all  will  be  alike  entitled  to  the 
nation's  gratitude.  "  WILLIAM  McKiNLEY." 


STATE   PAPERS  AND  SPEECHES. 

The  war  having  been  brought  to  a  successful  issue,  on  the 
evening  of  August  12,  1898,  President  McKinley  issued  the  fol- 
lowing proclamation : 

"  BY  THE  PRESIDENT  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES  OF  AMERICA. 

"A  PROCLAMATION. 

"  Whereas,  B}-  a  protocol  concluded  and  signed  August  12, 
1898,  by  William  R.  Day,  Secretary  of  State  of  the  United  States, 
and  His  Excellency,  Jules  Cambon,  Ambassador  Extraordinary 
and  Minister  Plenipotentiary  of  the  Republic  of  France  at  Wash- 
ington, respectively  representing  for  this  purpose  the  Government 
of  the  United  States  and  the  Government  of  Spain,  the  United 
States  and  Spain  have  formally  agreed  upon  the  terms  on  which 
negotiations  for  the  establishment  of  peace  between  the  two  coun- 
tries shall  be  undertaken  ;  and 

"  Whereas,  It  is  in  said  protocol  agreed  that  upon  its  conclu- 
sion and  signature  hostilities  between  the  two  countries  shall  be 
suspended,  and  that  notice  to  that  effect  shall  be  given  as  soon  as 
possible  by  each  government  to  the  commanders  of  its  military 
and  naval  forces. 

HOSTILITIES  ARE  SUSPENDED. 

"  Now,  therefore,  I,  William  McKinley,  President  of  the 
United  States,  do,  in  accordance  with  the  stipulations  of  the  proto- 
col, declare  and  proclaim  on  the  part  of  the  United  States  a  sus- 
pension of  hostilities,  and  do  hereby  command  that  orders  be 
immediately  given  through  the  proper  channels  to  the  command- 
ers of  the  military  and  naval  forces  of  the  United  States  to  abstain 
from  all  acts  inconsistent  with  this  proclamation. 

"  In  witness  whereof,  I  have  hereunto  set  my  hand  and  caused 
the  seal  of  the  United  States  to  be  affixed. 

"Done  in  the  city  of  Washington,  this  i2th  day  of  August, 
in  the  year  of  our  Lord  one  thousand  eight  hundred  and  ninety- 
eight,  and  of  the  Independence  of  the  United  States  the  one  hun- 
dred and  twenty-third.  "  WILLIAM  McKiNLEY." 

"  By  the  President,  WILLIAM  R.  DAY,  Secretary  of  State." 
11 


162  STATE  PAPERS  AND  SPEECHES. 

In  October  many  towns  and  cities  in  all  parts  of  the  United 
States  held  peace  jubilees,  to  comniem orate  the  end  of  the  war, 
and  express  the  public  satisfaction  over  its  results.  Chicago's 
great  peace  jubilee  began  on  Monday,  October  i/th,  and  con- 
tinued for  several  days.  President  and  Mrs.  McKinley  were  pres. 
ent,  with  several  members  of  the  Cabinet,  many  foreign  ministers 
and  secretaries,  Senators,  Representatives,  Governors,  officers  of 
the  army  and  navy,  mayors  of  cities,  prelates  of  the  churches  and 
other  distinguished  men. 

Arches  were  erected  across  many  streets  and  named  in  honor 
of  army  and  navy  heroes  of  the  Spanish  war.  Flags  and  bunting 
decorated  every  building  in  the  downtown  district.  Countless 
lines  of  electric  lights  were  strung  for  illuminating  the  streets 
and  every  preparation  was  made  to  celebrate  the  victories  at 
Manila  and  Santiago.  There  were  banquets,  parades  and  a  j  ubilee 
ball,  and  the  city  was  crowded  for  many  days. 

AT  THE  CHICAGO  AUDITORIUM. 

The  jubilee  was  inaugurated  with  a  union  thanksgiving 
service  at  the  Auditorium  President  McKinley  attended  and 
listened  to  addresses  by  a  Jewish  rabbi,  a  Roman  Catholic  priest, 
a  Presbyterian  clergyman  and  a  noted  colored  orator.  The 
applause  for  the  President  was  terrific,  and  at  one  time  he  was 
compelled  to  rise  in  his  box  and  respond  to  the  frantic  cheering 
of  the  audience.  The  services,  however,  were  of  a  religious  char- 
acter. 

The  President's  party  was  driven  to  the  Auditorium  at  8 
o'clock,  and  all  along  the  way  people  lined  the  streets  to^vatch 
the  passage  of  the  President's  carriage.  Easily  12,000  people 
were  within  the  great  Auditorium,  and  probably  as  many  more 
were  on  the  outside  unable  to  obtain  admittance. 

A  great  public  meeting  was  held  in  the  Auditorium  on  Tues- 
day. The  presiding  officer,  George  K.  Peck,  spoke  briefly.  The 
President  was  undemonstrative  until  Mr.  Peck  said,  in  reference 
to  peace  :  (  We  have  given  good  lives  for  it,  and  every  life  makes 
it  more  precious."  Then  the  President  applauded.  A  moment 


STATE   PAPERS  AND  SPEECHES.  163 


later  the  orator  struck  another  chord,  which  seemed  to  arouse  the 
enthusiasm  of  the  nation's  chief.  "  Our  greatest  victory  he 
said,  '4s  the  supreme  victory  which  the  North  and  South  have 
won  over  each  other."  At  this  the  President  and  all  applaud. 

vigorously. 

As  President  McKinley  and  party  arose  to  leave,  there  were 
loud  calls  for  the  Chief  Executive.     For  fully  five  minutes  the 
enthusiasm  of  the   audience  would  not  let  him  speak, 
spoke  as  follows : 

THE  PRESIDENT'S  ADDRESS. 

"  My  fellow  citizens,  I  have  been  deeply  moved  by  this  great 
demonstration.     I   have   been    deeply    touched   by  the  words  of 
patriotism  that  have  been  uttered  by  the  distinguished  men  s 
eloquently  in  your  presence. 

"It  is  gratifying   to  all  of  us  to  know  that  this  has  never 
ceased  to  be  a  war  of  humanity.     The  last  ship  that  went  out  of 
the  harbor  of  Havana  before  war  was  declared  was  an  American 
ship  that  had  taken  to  the  suffering  people  of  Cuba  the  supplies 
furnished  by  American  charity  (applause),  and  the  first  ship  t 
sail  into  the  harbor  of  Santiago  was  an  American  ship  bearing 
food  supplies  to  the  suffering  Cubans  (applause),  and  I  am  sure  it 
is  the   universal   prayer   of  American  citizens  that  justice  and 
humanity  and  civilization  shall  characterize  the  final  settlemeu 
of  peace,"  as   they  have  distinguished  the    progress    of 

(ApPuaMye  countrymen,  the  currents  of  destiny  flow  through  the 
hearts  of  our  people.  Who  will  check  them,  who  will  divert 
them^who  will  stop  them  ?  And  the  movements  of  men,  planned 
and  designed  by  the  Master  of  Men,  will  never  be  interrupted  by 
the  American  people."  (Great  applause.) 

The  military  parade  occupied  Wednesday,  and  so  great  was 
the  crowd  of  people  along  the  route  that  the  police  had  great  diffi- 
culty in  keeping  an  open  passage  for  the  men  in  line. 

The  President  rose  and  uncovered  as  the  veterans  of  the 
war  passed  him.     This  aroused  the  enthusiasm  of  the  spectators 


164  STATE   PAPERS  AND  SPEECHES. 

and  he  was  cheered  time  and  again.  When  the  last  man  in  line 
had  gone  by  the  President  was  escorted  to  the  Union  League 
Clnb,  where  he  partook  of  luncheon  as  the  guest  of  the  club. 
More  than  a  thousand  persons  were  at  the  table,  including  the 
guests  of  the  city  and  prominent  members  of  the  organization. 

While  the  President  was  at  luncheon  a  great  crowd  outside 
called  for  him.  They  would  not  be  denied,  and  the  President 
stepped  out  on  the  reviewing  stand.  As  soon  as  quiet  was  restored 

he  said : 

LOUD  CHEERS  FOR  THE  VETERANS. 

"  I  witness  with  pride  and  satisfaction  the  cheers  of  the  mul- 
titudes as  the  veterans  of  the  civil  war  on  both  sides  of  the 
contest  have  been  reviewed.  (Great  applause.)  I  witness  with 
increasing  pride  the  wild  acclaim  of  the  people  as  you  watch  the 
volunteers  and  the  regulars  and  our  naval  reserves  (the  guardians 
of  the  people  on  land  and  sea)  pass  before  your  eyes.  The 
demonstration  of  to-day  is  worth  everything  to  our  country,  for  I 
read  in  the  faces  and  hearts  of  my  countrymen  the  purpose  to  see 
to  it  that  this  government,  with  its  free  institutions,  shall  never 
perish  from  the  face  of  the  earth. 

"  I  wish  I  might  take  the  hand  of  every  patriotic  woman,  man 
and  child  here  to-day.  (Applause.)  But  I  cannot  do  that.  (Voice 
from  the  crowd,  *  But  you've  got  our  hearts,'  followed  by  prolonged 
cheering).  And  so  I  leave  with  you  not  only  my  thanks,  but  the 
thanks  of  this  great  nation,  for  your  patriotism  and  devotion  to 
the  flag."  (Great  cheering.) 

On  the  25th,  26th,  2yth  and  28th  of  October  a  National  Jubi- 
lee to  commemorate  the  return  of  peace  drew  to  Philadelphia  the 
most  notable  officials  of  the  Government,  and  the  most  renowned 
commanders  and  heroes  of  the  war.  The  festivities,  which  were 
attended  by  hundreds  of  thousands  of  people,  who  exhibited  their 
patriotism  in  every  possible  way,  began  with  a  great  naval  parade 
on  the  Delaware  on  the  afternoon  of  the  25th. 

The  naval  review  was  one  of  the  grandest  spectacles  that  has 
ever  been  witnessed  in  this  country.  Every  craft  on  the  river, 
from  the  usually  inconsequential  tugboat  to  the  fleet  of  massive 


STATE   PAPERS  AND  SPEECHES.  165 

warships  that  honored  the  city  with  its  presence,  and  from  the 
dingy  rowboat  to  every  sailing  vessel  of  material  size,  was  gaily 
decorated.     The  multitude  of  piers  that  project  into  the  stream  on 
both  sides  of  the  river  were  likewise  beautified  by  a  generous  dis- 
play of  flags  and  bunting.     The  whole  scene  was  inspiring,  and, 
with  each  Government  vessel  booming  forth  a  salute  of  seventeen, 
guns  to  the  Secretary  of  the  Navy  as  he  passed  the  moored  mon- 
sters of  war  on  the  luxurious  steam  yacht   "May,"  the  spirit  of 
patriotism  was  so  manifest  that  one's  sense  of  love  for  country 
demonstrated  itself  in  long  and  loud  cheers. 

BRILLIANT  NAVAL  DISPLAY, 

Every  class  of  vessel  in  the  United  States  navy  was  repre- 
sented in  the  motionless  line  of  warships,  from  the  great  massive 
battleship   down   to    the    daring   torpedo-boat,    as   well    as    that 
valuable  arm  of  the  service   represented  by   the   transport   and 
despatch   boat.     The  crowd   of   sightseers   realized   that,  in  the 
battles  of  the  war,  all  of  them  performed  their  duty  in  the  spirit 
as   well    as   to   the   letter,  on   scouting    service,  or   in   carrying 
despatches,  on  blockade  duty,  or  in  pitched  engagements,  and  all, 
with  the  heroes  on  board  of  them,  were  accorded  that  enthusiast 
reception  which  a  loyal  American  people  are  capable  of  giving. 
The  men  were  not  forgotten  in  the  admiration  of  the  ships, 
a  matter  of  history  that  every  man,  wherever  found,  down  in  the 
engine  room,  among  the  stokers,  or  behind  the  guns,  performed 
his  whole  duty,  and  the  cheering  was  for  them  as  we] 
ships  which  they  manned. 

Following  the  Secretary  of  the  Navy  the  great  crowds  on  the 
boats  in  the  line  of  parading  vessels,  over  two  miles  long  cheered 
lustily  as  they  glided  slowly  by  in  their  turn  in  single  file. 
Columbia  came  in  for  her  share  of  applause,  and  then  the  May- 
flower recalled  by  her  presence  her  excellent  record,  and  she  was 
cheered.     But  when  the  New  Orleans,  that  defiant  cruiser  whose 
telling  shots  were  felt  by  the  Spanish  forts  on  the  coast  of  Cuba 
was  passed,  it  seemed  as  if  the  crowd  wanted  to  board  her  and 
personally  grasp  the  hands  of  her  officers  and  crew. 


166  STATE   PAPERS  AND  SPEECHES. 

But  if  they  were  demonstrative  then,  words  almost  fail  to 
describe  their  enthusiasm  as  they  passed  that  battle  monster,  the 
battleship  Texas,  the  flag-ship  of  Commodore  Philip's  squadron. 
It  was  not  an  easy  thing  to  recall,  from  her  present  condition, 
that  the  Texas,  with  "Jack"  Philip  in  command,  had  taken  a 
foremost  part  in  one  of  the  most  marvelous  marine  battles  in 
naval  history.  All  the  other  war  vessels  were  greeted  with  en- 
thusiasm, and  the  booming  of  guns  which  saluted  the  Secretary 
of  the  Navy  contributed  much  to  render  the  occasion  both  inspiring 
and  impressive. 

Much  of  the  interest  in  the  National  Jubilee  centered  in 
Military  Day.  Mile  after  mile,  hour  after  hour  of  marching  men, 
popular  heroes  of  the  Spanish  war,  officers  on  horseback,  privates 
on  foot,  gray-haired  Grand  Army  veterans,  the  scarred  battle  flags 
of  the  Rebellion,  music  of  bands,  enormous  numbers  of  cheering 
people  massed  in  stands  and  on  sidewalks,  the  senior  general  oi 
the  United  States  Army  leading  the  seven-mile  line,  the  President 
of  the  United  States  and  the  Commander-in-Chief  of  the  Army 
and  Navy  reviewing  it ;  and,  as  a  frame  to  the  picture,  the  city 
gay  with  color  shining  in  the  clear  sunshine  of  a  perfect  October 

day. 

APPLAUSE  FOR  THE  NOTABLES. 

Hvery  popular  favorite  in  the  parade  was  liberally  applauded. 
General  Miles  and  General  Wheeler,  Hobson  and  his  men,  the 
Rough  Riders'  detachment,  the  gallant  Tenth  Cavalry,  the  colored 
troopers  who  came  to  the  relief  of  Roosevelt's  men  when  they  were 
so  hard  pressed  at  El  Caney ;  Captain  Sigsbee,  the  marines  and 
the  Twenty-first  Infantry  were  received  with  the  wildest  demon- 
strations of  delight. 

President  McKinley,  who  was  the  guest  of  the  Clover  Club, 
of  Philadelphia,  said,  in  his  address  : 

"It  is  most  gratifying  to  me  to  participate  with  the  people  of 
Philadelphia  in  this  great  patriotic  celebration.  It  has  been  a 
pageant  the  like  of  which  I  do  not  believe  has  been  seen  since  the 
close  of  the  civil  war,  when  the  army  of  Grant  and  Sherman  and 
the  navy  of  Farragut  and  Porter  met  in  that  great  celebration  in 


STATE  PAPERS  AND  SPEECHES.  167 

Washington  and  was  reviewed  by  President  Lincoln.    And  I  know 
of  no  better  place  in  which  to  have  such  a  celebration  than  m  this 
glorious  city,  which  witnessed  the  Declaration  of  Independence. 
"As  I  stood  on  the  reviewing  stand  to-day  my  heart  was  filled 
only  with  gratitude  to  the  God  of  battles,  who  has  so  favored  us, 
and  to  the  soldiers  and  sailors  who  have  won  such  victories  on 
land  and  sea  and  have  given  such  a  new  meaning  to   American 
valor      No  braver  soldiers  or  sailors  ever  assembled  under  a  flag^ 
"  You  had  to-day  the  heroes  of  Guantanamo,  of  Santiago,  ol 
Porto  Rico.     We  had  unfortunately  none  of  the  heroes  of  Manila, 
but  our  hearts  go  out  to-night  to  the  brave  ^wey''-here 
President  was  interrupted  with  tremendous  cheers-'  and  to  Mernt 
and  to  Otis  and  to  all  the  brave  men  with  them. 

"Gentlemen,  the  American  people  are  ready.    If  the  Mernmac 
is  to  be  sunk-"  here  the  President  turned  to  the  young  naval 
constructor,  while  every  one  shouted  'Hobson-'  "yes  Hobson 
is  ready  to  do  it  and  to  succeed  in  what  Ms  foes  never  have  been 
able  to  do— sink  an  American  ship. 

"I   propose   a  toast  to  the  army  and  navy,  without  whose 
sacrifices  we  could  not  now  celebrate  the  victory,  a  toast  not  only 
o  the  men  who  were  in  the   front,  in  the  trenches,  but  the  men 
who  were  willing  and  anxious  to  go,  but  who  could  not  be  sent. 


CHAPTER  VIII. 

Glowing  Tribute  to  Our  Lamented  President— Speech  on 
Being  Notified  of  His  Second  Nomination— Masterly 
Statement  of  the  Political  History  of  Our  Country. 

'T'HH  sorrow  over  Mr.  McKinley's  -untimely  death  was  not  con- 
fined to  any  one  section  of  our  country.  This  is  made  plain 
by  the  following  editorial  from  the  "Atlanta  Constitution,"  which 
gives  eloquent  voice  to  the  grief  that  was  common  to  our  whole 
people  : 

'  The  death  of  the  President  comes  to  the  people  of  the 
United  States  as  a  common  grief.  In  the  North,  to  whose  cause 
he  was  espoused  when  civil  war  raged ;  in  the  South,  to  whose 
people  he  brought  a  message  of  real  fraternity  ;  in  the  new  nation, 
baptized  in  the  blood  of  all  sections,  the  name  of  McKinley  had 
become  a  household  word.  He  was  close  to  each,  without  indif- 
ference to  either  ;  with  the  love  of  a  father,  he  looked  forward  to 
the  maturity  of  the  nation  over  which  he  had  been  called  to 
preside. 

'The  hour  of  death  removes  politics,  but  better  still  the  love 
of  a  lifetime  had  extracted  whatever  asperity  might  have  existed. 
The  high  office  of  President  was  fittingly  filled  by  a  man  meas- 
uring up  to  its  requirements.  To  him  it  made  no  difference  whether 
patriot  had  worn  blue  or  gray  ;  he  accepted  the  heart-loyalty  of 
the  present  as  the  token  of  the  future.  There  will  be  many 
evidences  of  the  dead  President's  administration  to  perpetuate 
his  name. 

"  He  had  an  eye  to  the  material  supremacy  of  the  Union  ; 
he  had  expanded  the  limits  of  American  authority  beyond  the 
seas,  but,  greater  than  all-the  greatest  possible— was  the  bind- 
ing of  domestic  wounds  and  the  healing  of  internal  estrange- 
ment. 

'The  nation  mourns  for  McKinley  ;  the  South  kneels  at  his 
bier  ;  the  whole  world  sees  a  weeping  but  united  nation. 

loo 


McKINLEY   ON   THE   CONDITION   OF   THE   COUNTRY.  169 

"  But  government  never  stands  still.  With  the  closing  of  the 
career  of  the  President,  the  Vice  President  comes  into  office.  This 
brings  to  the  nation  no  shock  of  policy  or  of  person.  The  people 
elected  McKinley  and  Roosevelt  as  in  one  purpose,  and  one  in 
policies.  Theodore  Roosevelt  is  an  outspoken  man  ;  brave,  and 
ready  to  meet  every  emergency.  Placed  in  positions  of  untried 
trust,  he  has  proven  equal  to  every  occasion.  His  qualities  are 
of  the  manly  order.  He,  like  the  late  President,  is  full  of  hope 
for  his  country,  and  looks  to  a  glorious  future  for  it.  In  his  blood 
there  courses  a  Georgian  strain.  That  he  will  meet  his  new 
responsibility  there  need  be  no  doubt.  Theodore  Roosevelt  will 
prove  a  worthy  successor  of  William  McKinley. 

A  LESSON  OF  RESPONSIBILITY. 

"  To  the  nation  itself  there  comes  the  lesson  of  responsibility. 
A  government  of  laws  can  only  be  upheld  by  a  people  devoted  to 
law  observance.  We  have  permitted  canker  to  grow  up  in  the  body 
politic.  We  have  overlooked  the  vile  abuse  of  our  institutions 
by  men  who  sought  our  protection  only  to  betray  it.  While  the 
nation's  chief  was  in  agony  vile  men  rejoiced,  and  brazen  women, 
like  the  Goldman  fiend,  laughed  officers  to  scorn.  Law  was 
mocked,  and  there  was  only  helplessness  to  look  on.  There  must 
be  a  change  !  There  must  be  no  compromising  with  civic  crime  ! 
The  Anarchist  must  go  !  He  must  not  gloat  over  the  grief  of  a 
strong  nation.  Herein  lies  work  for  the  people  ! " 

This  eulogy  is  fully  merited,  as  may  be  seen  from  the  public 
utterances  of  Mr.  McKinley  which  have  regard  to  every  section 
of  our  broad  land  and  to  all  the  varied  conditions  of  labor  and 
finance.  His  address  to  the  committee  that  notified  him  of  his 
second  nomination  for  President  was  an  elaborate  declaration  of 
great  principles.  Every  issue  involved  in  the  campaign  was 
discussed  at  length,  and  the  document  possesses  great  value  as  a 
sketch  of  the  political  history  of  the  country  during  the  adminis- 
tration. The  following  is  the  text  of  the  address  : 

The  nomination  of  the  Republican  Convention  of  June,  19, 
1900,  for  the  office  of  President  of  the  United  States,  which,  as 


170  McKINLEY  ON   THE   CONDITION   OF  THE   COUNTRY. 

the  official  representative  of  the  convention,  you  have  conveyed 
to  me,  is  accepted.  I  have  carefully  examined  the  platform 
adopted  and  give  to  it  my  hearty  approval.  Upon  the  great  issue 
of  the  last  national  election  it  is  clear.  It  upholds  the  gold 
standard  and  endorses  the  legislation  of  the  present  Congress, 
by  which  that  standard  has  been  effectively  strengthened.  The 
stability  of  our  national  currency  is,  therefore,  secure  so  long  as 
those  who  adhere  to  this  platform  are  kept  in  control  of  the 
government. 

FRIENDS  OF  THE  GOLD  STANDARD. 

In  the  first  battle,  that  of  1896,  the  friends  of  the  gold  stand- 
ard and  of  sound  currency  were  triumphant,  and  the  country  is 
enjoying  the  fruits  of  that  victory.  Our  antagonists,  however, 
are  not  satisfied.  They  compel  us  to  a  second  battle  upon  the 
same  lines  on  which  the  first  was  fought  and  won.  While  regret- 
ting the  reopening  of  this  question,  which  can  only  disturb  the 
present  satisfactory  condition  of  the  government  and  visit  uncer- 
tainty upon  our  great  business  enterprises,  we  accept  the  issue 
and  again  invite  the  sound  money  forces  to  join  in  winning  an- 
other, and,  we  hope,  a  permanent  triumph  for  an  honest  financial 
system  system  which  will  continue  inviolable  the  public  faith. 

As  in  1896,  the  three  silver  parties  are  united,  under  the 
same  leader  who  immediately  after  the  election  of  the  year,  in  an 
address  to  the  bimetalists,  said  : 

!c  The  friends  of  bimetalism  have  not  been  vanquished  ;  they 
have  simply  been  overcome.  They  believe  that  the  gold  standard 
is  a  conspiracy  of  the  money-changers  against  the  welfare  of  the 
human  race — and  they  will  continue  the  warfar  against  it." 

The  policy  thus  proclaimed  has  been  accepted  and  confirmed 
by  these  parties.  The  Silver  Democratic  platform  of  1900  con- 
tinues the  warfare  against  the  so-called  gold  conspiracy  when  it 
expressly  says  :  "  We  reiterate  the  demand  of  that  (the  Chicago) 
platform  of  1896  for  an  American  financial  system  made  by  the 
American  people  for  themselves,  which  shall  restore  and  maintain 
a  bimetalic  price  level,  and  as  part  of  such  system  the  immediate 


McKINLEY   ON  THE  CONDITION   OF  THE   COUNTRY.  171 

restoration  of  the  free  and  unlimited  coinage  of  silver  and  gold  at 
the  present  ratio  of  16  to  i,  without  waiting  for  the  aid 
of  any  other  nation." 

So  the  issue  is  presented.     It  will  be  noted  that  the  demand 
is  for  the  immediate  restoration  of  the  free  coinage  of  silver  at  16 
to  i      If  another  issue  is  paramount,  this  is   immediate, 
admit  of  no  delay  and  will  suffer  no  postponement. 

Turning  to  the  other  associated  parties,  we  find  in  the   Fopu 
list  national  platform,  adopted  at  Sioux  Falls,  S.  D.,  May  10,  1900, 
the  following  declaration : 

"  We  pledge  anew  the  People's  party  never  to   cease  the  agi- 
tation until  this  financial  conspiracy  is  blotted  from  the  statute 
books,  the  Lincoln  greenback  restored,  the  bonds  all  paid,  and  all 
corporation    money     forever    retired.      We  reaffirm  the  demand 
for  the  reopening  of  the  mints  of  the  United  States   for  the  free 
and  unlimited  coinage  of  silver  and  gold  at  the  present  legal  ratio 
of  16  to  i,  the  immediate  increase  in  the  volume  of  silver  coins 
and  certificates  thus  created  to  be  substituted,  dollar  for  dollar,  for 
the  bank  notes  issued  by  private  corporations  under  special  privi- 
lege, granted  by  law  of  March  14,  ioo°-" 

EXTRAORDINARY   ANNOUNCEMENT. 
The  platform  of  the  Silver  party,  adopted  at  Kansas  City, 
Tulv  6,  1900,  makes  the  following  announcement : 
J        "  We  declare  it  to  be  our  intention  to  lend  our  efforts  to  the 
repeal  of  this  currency  law,  which  not  only  repudiates  the  ancient 
InPd  time-honored  principles  of  the  American  people  before  the 
Constitution  was  adopted,  but  is  violative  ?^  ¥%&"*£* 
Constitution  itself;  and  we  shall  not  cease  our  efforts   unt. 
has  been  established  in  its  place  a  monetary   system  based  up. 
the  free   and  unlimited  coinage  of  silver  and  gold  into    money 
at  the  present  legal  ratio  of  16  to  i  by  the   independent  action  of 
the  United  States,  under  which  system  all  paper  money 
issued  by  the  government,  and  all  such  money  coined  or  issued 
shall  be  a  full  legal  tender  in  payment  of  all  debts,  public  and 
private,  without  exception," 


172  McKINLEY  ON  THE   CONDITION   OF  THE  COUNTRY. 

In  all  three  platforms  these  parties  announce  that  their  efforts 
shall  be  unceasing  until  the  gold  act  shall  be  blotted  from  the 
statute  books  and  the  free  and  unlimited  coinage  of  silver  at  16 
to  i  shall  take  its  place. 

The  relative  importance  of  the  issues  I  do  not  stop  to  discuss. 
All  of  them  are  important.  Whichever  party  is  successful  will 
be  bound  in  conscience  to  carry  into  administration  and  legisla- 
tion its  several  declarations  and  doctrines.  One  declaration  will 
be  as  obligatory  as  another,  but  all  are  not  immediate.  It  is  not 
possible  that  these  parties  would  treat  the  doctrine  of  1 6  to  i,  the 
immediate  realization  of  which  is  demanded  by  their  several  plat- 
forms, as  void  and  inoperative  in  the  event  that  they  should  be 
clothed  with  power.  Otherwise  their  profession  of  faith  is  insin- 
cere. 

FIGHT  ON  THE  SILVER  ISSUE. 

It  is,  therefore,  the  imperative  business  of  those  opposed  to 
this  financial  heresy  to  prevent  the  triumph  of  the  parties  whose 
union  is  only  assured  by  adherence  to  the  silver  issue.  Will  the 
American  people,  through  indifference  or  fancied  security,  hazard 
the  overthrow  of  the  wise  financial  legislation  of  the  past  year 
and  revive  the  danger  of  the  silver  standard,  with  all  of  the 
inevitable  evils  of  shattered  confidence  and  general  disaster  which 
justly  alarmed  and  aroused  them  in  1896  ? 

The  Chicago  platform  of  1896  is  reaffirmed  in  its  entirety  by 
the  Kansas  City  convention.  Nothing  has  been  omitted  or 
recalled;  so  that  all  the  perils  then  threatened  are  presented 
anew,  with  the  added  force  of  a  deliberate  reaffirmation.  Four 
years  ago  the  people  refused  to  place  the  seal  of  their  approval 
upon  these  dangerous  and  revolutionary  policies,  and  this  year 
they  will  not  fail  to  record  again  their  earnest  dissent. 

The  Republican  party  remains  faithful  to  its  principle  of  a 
tariff  wkich  supplies  sufficient  revenues  for  the  government  and 
adequate  protection  to  our  enterprises  and  producers  ;  and  of 
reciprocity  which  opens  foreign  markets  to  the  fruits  of  American 
laboi,  and  furnishes  new  channels  through  which  to  market  the 
surplus  of  American  farms,  The  time-honored  principles  of 


McKlNLEY  ON   THE  CONDITION   OF  THE  COUNTRY.  173 

protection  and  reciprocity  were  the   first  pledges  of  Republican 
victory  to  be  written  into  public  law. 

The  present  Congress  has  given  to  Alaska  a  territorial  gov- 
ernment, for  which  it  had  waited  more  than  a  quarter  of  a  century; 
has  established  a  representative  government  in  Hawaii ;  has 
enacted  bills  for  the  most  liberal  treatment  of  the  pensioners  and 
their  widows  ;  has  revived  the  free  homestead  policy.  In  its  great 
financial  law  it  provided  for  the  establishment  of  banks  of  issue 
with  a  capital  of  $25,000,  for  the  benefit  of  villages  and  rural 
communities,  and  bringing  the  opportunity  for  profitable  business 
in  banking  within  the  reach  of  moderate  capital.  Many  are 
already  availing  themselves  of  this  privilege. 

UNITED  STATES  BONDS. 

During  the  past  year  more  than  nineteen  millions  of  United 
States  bonds  have  been  paid  from  the  surplus  revenues  of  the 
Treasury,  and  in  addition  twenty-five  millions  of  2  per  cents 
matured,  called  by  the  government,  are  in  process  of  payment. 
Pacific  railroad  bonds  issued  by  the  government  in  aid  of  the 
roads  in  the  sum  of  nearly  forty-four  million  dollars  have  been 
paid  since  December  31,  1897.  The  Treasury  balance  is  in  satis- 
factory condition,  showing  on  September  i,  $135,419,000,  in  addi- 
tion to  the  $150,000,000  gold  reserve  held  in  the  Treasury.  The 
Government's  relations  with  the  Pacific  railroads  have  been  sub- 
stantially closed,  $121,421,000  being  received  from  these  roads, 
the  greater  part  in  cash  and  the  remainder  with  ample  securities 
for  payments  deferred. 

Instead  of  diminishing,  as  was  predicted  four  years  ago,  the 
volume  of  our  currency  is  greater  per  capita  than  it  has  ever 
been.  It  was  $21.10  in  1896.  It  has  increased  to  $26.50  on  July 
i,  1900,  and  $26.85  on  September  i,  1900.  Our  total  money  on 
July  i,  1896,  was  $1,506,434,966  ;  on  July  i,  1900,  it  was  $2,062,- 
425,490,  and  $2,096,683,042  on  September  i,  1900. 

Our  industrial  and  agricultural  conditions  are  more  promis- 
ing than  they  have  been  for  many  years  ;  probably  more  so  than 
they  have  ever  been.  Prosperity  abounds  everywhere  through- 


174  McKINLEY   ON    THE   CONDITION    OF   THE   COUNTRY. 

out  the  Republic.  I  rejoice  that  the  Southern  as  well  as  the 
Northern  States  are  enjoying  a  full  share  of  these  improved 
national  conditions,  and  that  all  are  contributing  so  largely  to 
our  remarkable  industrial  development.  The  money  lender 
receives  lower  rewards  for  his  capital  than  if  it  were  invested  in 
active  business.  The  rates  of  interest  are  lower  than  they  have 
ever  been  in  this  country,  while  those  things  which  are  produced 
on  the  farm  and  in  the  workshop  and  the  labor  producing  them 
have  advanced  in  value. 

SATISFACTORY  FOREIGN  TRADE. 

Our  foreign  trade  shows  a  satisfactory  and  increasing  growth. 
The  amount  of  our  exports  for  the  year  1900,  over  those  of  the 
exceptionally  prosperous  year  of  1899,  was  about  half  a  million 
dollars  for  every  day  of  the  year,  and  these  sums  have  gone  into 
the  homes  and  enterprise  of  the  people.  There  has  been  an  in- 
crease of  over  $50,000,000  in  the  exports  of  agricultural  products  ; 
$92,692,220  in  manufactures,  and  in  products  of  the  mines  of  over 
$10,000,000.  Our  trade  balances  cannot  fail  to  give  satisfaction 
to  the  people  of  the  country.  In  1898  we  sold  abroad  $615,432,- 
676  of  products  more  than  we  bought  abroad  ;  in  1899,  $529,874,- 
813  and  in  1900,  $544,471,701,  making,  during  the  three  years,  a 
total  balance  in  our  favor  of  $1,689,779,190 — nearly  five  times  the 
balance  of  trade  in  our  favor  for  the  whole  period  of  108  years, 
from  1790  to  June  30,  1897,  inclusive. 

Four  hundred  and  thirty-six  million  dollars  of  gold  have 
been  added  to  the  gold  stock  of  the  United  States  since  July  i, 
1896.  The  law  of  March  14,  1900,  authorized  the  refunding  into 
2  per  cent,  bonds  of  that  part  of  the  public  debt  represented  by 
the  3  per  cents,  due  in  1908  ;  the  4  per  cents,  due  in  1907  ;  and 
the  5  per  cents,  due  in  1904,  aggregating  $840,000,000.  More 
than  one-third  of  the  sum  of  these  bonds  was  refunded  in  the 
first  three  months  after  the  passage  of  the  act,  and  on  Sep- 
tember i  the  sum  had  been  increased  more  than  $33,000,000, 
making  in  all  $33°>578>O5O,  resulting  in  a  net  saving  of  over 
$8,379,520. 


McKINLEY  ON    THE   CONDITION    OF   THE    COUNTRY.  175 

The  ordinary  receipts  of  the  government  for  the  fiscal  year 
1900  were  $79,827,060  in  excess  of  its  expenditures. 

While  our  receipts  both  from  customs  and  internal  reveune 
have  been  greatly  increased,  our  expenditures  have  been  decreas- 
ing. Civil  and  miscellaneous  expenses  for  the  fiscal  year  ending 
June  30,  1900,  were  nearly  $14,000,000  less  than  in  1899,  while 
on  the  war  account  there  is  a  decrease  of  more  than  $95,000,000. 
There  were  required  $8,000,000  less  to  support  the  navy  this  year 
than  last,  and  the  expenditures  on  account  of  Indians  were  nearly 
two  and  three-quarter  million  dollars  less  than  in  1899. 

ITEMS  OF  INCREASE  IN  TAX. 

The  only  two  items  of  increase  in  the  public  expenses  of 
1900  over  1899  are  for  pensions  and  interest  on  the  public  debt. 
For  1890  we  expended  for  pensions  $139,394,929,  and  for  the  fiscal 
year  1900  our  payments  on  this  account  amounted  to  $140,877,- 
316.  The  net  increase  of  interest  on  the  public  debt  of  1900  over 
1899,  required  by  the  war  loan,  was  $263,408.25.  While  Congress 
authorized  the  Government  to  make  a  war  loan  of  $400,000,000  at 
the  beginning  of  the  war  with  Spain,  only  $200,000,000  of  bonds 
were  issued,  bearing  three  per  cent,  interest,  which  were  promptly 
and  patriotically  taken  by  our  citizens. 

Unless  something  unforeseen  occurs  to  reduce  our  revenue 
or  increase  our  expenditures,  the  Congress  at  its  next  session 
should  reduce  taxation  very  materially. 

Five  years  ago  we  were  selling  Government  bonds  bearing 
as  high  as  five  per  cent,  interest.  Now  we  are  redeeming  them 
with  a  bond  at  par  bearing  two  per  cent,  interest.  We  are  selling 
our  surplus  products  and  lending  our  surplus  money  to  Europe. 
One  result  of  our  selling  to  other  nations  so  much  more  than  we 
have  bought  from  them  during  the  past  three  years  is  a  radical 
improvement  of  our  financial  relations. 

The  great  amounts  of  capital  which  have  been  borrowed  of 
Europe  for  our  rapid,  material  development  have  remained  a  con- 
stant drain  upon  our  resources  for  interest  and  dividends,  and 
made  our  money  markets  liable  to  constant  disturbances  by  calls 


176 


for  payment  or  heavy  sales  of  our  securities  whenever  moneyed 
stringency  or  panic  occurred  abroad.  We  have  now  been  paying 
these  debts  and  bringing  home  many  of  our  securities  and  estab- 
lishing countervailing  credits  abroad  by  our  loans,  and  placing 
ourselves  upon  a  sure  foundation  of  financial  independence. 

In  the  unfortunate  contest  between  Great  Britain  and  the 
Boer  States  of  South  Africa,  the  United  States  has  maintained  an 
attitude  of  neutrality  in  accordance  with  its  well-known  traditional 
policy.  It  did  not  hesitate,  however,  when  requested  by  the  Gov- 
ernments of  the  South  African  republics  to  exercise  its  good 
offices  for  a  cessation  of  hostilities.  It  is  to  be  observed  that 
while  the  South  African  republics  made  like  requests  of  other 
powers,  the  United  States  is  the  only  one  which  complied  The 
British  Government  declined  to  accept  the  intervention  of  any 
power. 

CARRIED  BY  FOREIGN  SHIPS. 

Ninety-one  per  cent,  of  our  exports  and  imports  are  now 
carried  by  foreign  ships.  For  ocean  transportation  we  pay  an- 
nually to  foreign  ship  owners  over  $165,000,000.  We  ought  to 
own  the  ships  for  our  carrying  trade  with  the  world  and  we  ought 
build  them  in  American  shipyards  and  man  them  with  Ameri- 
can sailors.  Our  own  citizens  should  receive  the  transportation 
charges  now  paid  to  foreigners.  I  have  called  the  attention  of 
Congress  to  this  subject  in  my  several  annual  messages.  In  that 
of  December  6,  1897,  *  said  : 

"Most  desirable  from  every  standpoint  of  national  interest 
and  patriotism  is  the  effort  to  extend  our  foreign  commerce  To 
this  end  our  merchant  marine  should  be  improved  and  enlarged 
Irld  I  w  ^  °Ur  5UU  Share  °f  the  Car^  trade  of  the 
longer."  ^ 


In  my  message  of  December  5,  1899,  I  said  : 

ir  national  development  will  be  one-sided  and  unsatis- 

>ry  so  long  as  the  remarkable  growth  of  our  inland  industries 
remains  unaccompanied  by  progress  on  the  seas.  There  is  no 
lack  of  constitutional  authority  for  legislation  which  shall  give™ 


McKINLEY  ON  THE   CONDITION   OF  THE  COUNTRY.  177 

the  country  maritime  strength  commensurate  with  its  industrial 
achievements  and  with  its  rank  among  the  nations  of  the  earth. 
"The  past  year  has  recorded  exceptional  activity  in  our  ship- 
yards, and  the  promises  of  continued  prosperity  in  ship  building 
are  abundant.  Advanced  legislation  for  the  protection  of  our 
seamen  has  been  enacted.  Our  coast  trade,  under  regulations 
wisely  framed  at  the  beginning  of  the  government  and  since, 
shows  results  for  the  last  fiscal  year  unequaled  in  our  records  or 
those  of  any  other  power.  We  shall  fail  to  realize  our  oppor- 
tunities, however,  if  we  complacently  regard  only  matters  at  home, 
and  blind  ourselves  to  the  necessity  of  securing  our  share  in  the 
valuable  carrying  trade  of  the  world."  I  now  reiterate  these 

views. 

GREAT  WATERWAY  WANTED. 

A  subject  of  immediate  importance  to  our  country  is  the 
completion  of  a  great  waterway  between  the  Atlantic  and  Pacific. 
The  construction  of  a  maritime  canal  is  now  more  than  ever 
indispensable  to  that  intimate  and  ready  communication  between 
our  Eastern  and  Western  seaports  demanded  by  the  annexation 
of  the  Hawaiian  Islands  and  the  expansion  of  our  influence  and 
trade  in  the  Pacific. 

Our  national  policy  more  imperatively  than  ever  calls  for  its 
completion  and  control  by  this  government ;  and  it  is  believed 
that  the  next  session  of  Congress,  after  receiving  the  full  report 
of  the  commission  appointed  under  the  act  approved  March  3, 
1899,  will  make  provisions  for  the  sure  accomplishment  of  this 
great  work. 

Combinations  of  capital  which  control  the  market  in  com- 
modities necessary  to  the  general  use  of  the  people,  by  suppress- 
ing natural  and  ordinary  competition,  thus  enhancing  prices  to 
the  general  consumer,  are  obnoxious  to  the  common  law  and  the 
public  welfare.  They  are  dangerous  conspiracies  against  the 
public  good,  and  should  be  made  the  subject  of  prohibitory  or 
penal  legislation.  Publicity  will  be  a  helpful  influence  to  check 
this  evil.  Uniformity  of  legislation  in  the  several  States  should 

be  secured.     Discrimination  between  what  is  injurious  and  what 
12 


178  McKINLEY   ON   THE   CONDITION   OF   THE   COUNTRY. 

is  useful  and  necessary  in  business  operations  is  essential  to  the 
wise  aid  effective  treatment  of  this  subject.  Honest  co-operation 
of  capital  is  necessary  to  meet  new  business  conditions  and 
extend  our  rapidly  increasing  foreign  trade,  but  conspiracies  and 
combinations  intended  to  restrict  business,  create  monopolies 
and  control  prices  should  be  effectively  restrained. 

The  best  service  which  can  be  rendered  to  labor  is  to  afford  it 
an  opportunity  for  steady  and  remunerative  employment,  and 
give  it  every  encouragement  for  advancement.  The  policy  that 
subserves  this  end  is  the  true  American  policy.  The  last  three 
years  have  been  more  satisfactory  to  American  workingnien  than 
many  preceeding  years.  Any  change  of  the  present  industrial  or 
financial  policy  of  the  government  would  be  disastrous  to  their 
highest  interests.  With  prosperity  at  home  and  an  increasing 
foreign  market  for  American  products,  employment  should  con- 
tinue to  wait  upon  labor,  and  with  the  present  gold  standard  the 
workingman  is  secured  against  payments  for  his  labor  in  a  de- 
preciated currency. 

SHORT  DAY  FOR  LABOR. 

For  labor,  a  short  day  is  better  than  a  short  dollar  ;  one  will 
lighten  the  burdens,  the  other  lessen  the  rewards  of  toil.  The 
one  will  promote  contentment  and  independence  ;  the  other  penury 
and  want.  The  wages  of  labor  should  be  adequate  to  keep  the 
home  in  comfort,  educate  the  children,  and,  with  thrift  and 
economy,  lay  something  by  for  the  days  of  infirmity  and  old  age. 

Practical  civil  service  reform  has  always  had  the  support  and 
encouragement  of  the  Republican  party.  The  future  of  the  merit 
system  is  safe  in  its  hands. 

During  the  present  administration,  as  occasions  have  arisen 
for  modification  or  amendments  in  the  existing  civil  service  law 
and  rules,  they  have  been  made.  Important  amendments  were 
promulgated  by  Executive  order  under  date  of  May  29,  1899, 
having  for  their  principal  purpose  the  exception  from  competitive 
examination  of  certain  places  involving  fiduciary  responsibilities 
or  duties  of  a  strictly  confidential,  scientific  or  executive  character, 


McKINLEY   ON    THE   CONDITION    OF   THE   COUNTRY.  179 

which  it  was  thought  might  better  be  filled  either  by  non-com- 
petitive examination  or  by  other  tests  of  fitness  in  the  discretion 
of  the  appointing  officer.  It  is  gratifying  that  the  experience  of 
more  than  a  year  has  vindicated  these  changes  in  the  marked 
improvement  of  the  public  service. 

The  merit  system,  as  far  as  practicable,  is  made  the  basis  for 
appointments  to  office  in  our  new  territory. 

The  American  people  are  profoundly  grateful  to  the  soldiers, 
sailors  and  marines,  who  have,  in  every  time  of  conflict,  fought 
their  country's  battles  and  defended  its  honor.  The  survivors 
and  the  widows  and  the  orphans  of  those  who  have  fallen  are 
justly  entitled  to  receive  the  generous  and  considerate  care  of  the 
nation.  Few  are  now  left  of  those  who  fought  in  the  Mexican 
War,  and  while  many  of  the  veterans  of  the  Civil  War  are  still 
spared  to  us,  their  numbers  are  rapidly  diminishing,  and  age  and 
infirmity  are  increasing  their  dependence. 

CARE  FOR  OLD  SOLDIERS. 

These,  with  the  soldiers  of  the  Spanish  War,  will  not  be  neg- 
lected by  their  grateful  countrymen.  The  pension  laws  have 
been  liberal.  They  should  be  justly  administered,  and  will  be. 
Preference  should  be  given  to  the  soldiers,  sailors  and  marines, 
their  widows  and  orphans,  with  respect  to  employment  in  the  public 
service. 

We  have  been  in  possession  of  Cuba  since  the  first  of  January, 
1899.  We  have  restored  order  and  established  domestic  tran- 
quillity. We  have  fed  the  starving,  clothed  the  naked,  and 
ministered  to  the  sick.  We  have  improved  the  sanitary  condition 
of  the  island.  We  have  simulated  industry,  introduced  public 
education,  and  taken  a  full  and  comprehensive  enumeration  of 
the  inhabitants.  The  qualification  of  electors  has  been  settled, 
and  under  it  officers  have  been  chosen  for  all  the  municipalities 
of  Cuba.  These  local  governments  are  now  in  operation,  admin- 
istered bjr  the  people. 

An  election  has  been  ordered  to  be  held  on  the  i5th  of  Sep- 
tember, under  a  fair  election  law  already  tried  in  the  municipal 


180  McKINLEY  ON  THE  CONDITION   OF  THE  COUNTRY. 

elections,  to  choose  members  of  a  Constitutional  Convention,  and 
the  convention,  by  the  same  order,  is  to  assemble  on  the  first 
Monday  of  November  to  frame  a  constitution  upon  which  an 
independent  government  for  the  island  will  rest.  All  this  is  a 
long  step  in  the  fulfillment  of  our  sacred  guarantee  to  the  peole  of 
Cuba. 

We  hold  Porto  Rico  by  the  same  title  as  the  Philippines. 
The  treaty  of  peace  which  ceded  us  the  one  conveyed  to  us 
the  other.  Congress  has  given  to  this  island  a  government  in 
which  the  inhabitants  participate,  elect  their  own  legislature,  enact 
their  own  local  laws,  provide  their  own  system  of  taxation,  and  in 
these  respects  have  the  same  power  and  privileges  enjoyed  by 
other  territories  belonging  to  the  United  States,  and  a  much  larger 
measure  of  self-government  than  was  given  to  the  inhabitants  of 
Louisiana  under  Jefferson. 

ESTABLISHING  A  GOVERNMENT. 

A  district  court  of  the  United  States  for  Porto  Rico  has  been 
established  and  local  courts  have  been  inaugurated,  all  of  which 
are  in  operation.  The  generous  treatment  of  the  Porto  Ricans 
accords  with  the  most  liberal  thought  of  our  own  country  and 
encourages  the  best  aspirations  of  the  people  of  the  island. 

While  they  do  not  have  instant  free  commercial  intercourse 
with  the  United  States,  Congress  complied  with  my  recommenda- 
tion by  removing,  on  May  i,  eighty-five  per  cent,  of  the  duties 
and  providing  for  the  removal  of  the  remaining  fiteen  per  cent,  on 
the  ist  of  March,  1902,  or  earlier  if  the  Legislature  of  Porto  Rico 
shall  provide  local  revenues  for  the  expenses  of  conducting  the 
government.  During  this  intermediate  period  Porto  Rican  prod- 
ucts coming  into  the  United  States  pay  a  tariff  of  fifteen  per  cent, 
of  the  rates  under  the  Dingley  act,  and  our  goods  going  to  Porto 
Rico  pay  a  like  rate. 

The  duties  thus  paid  and  collected  both  in  Porto  Rico  and 
the  United  States  are  paid  to  the  Gove-minent  of  Porto  Rico  and 
no  part  thereof  is  taken  by  the  National  Government.  All  of  the 
duties  from  November  i,  1898,  to  June  30,  1900,  aggregating  the 


McKINLEY  ON   THE   CONDITION   OF  THE  COUNTRY,  181 

sum  of  $2,250,523.21,  paid  at  the  Custom  House  in  the  United 
States  upon  Porto  Rican  products,  under  the  laws  existing  prior 
to  the  above  mentioned  act  of  Congress,  have  gone  into  the 
Treasury  of  Porto  Rico  to  relieve  the  destitute  and  for  schools 
and  other  public  purposes.  In  addition  to  this  we  have  made 
expenditures  for  relief,  education  and  improvement. 

For  the  sake  of  full  and  intelligent  understanding  of  the 
Philippine  question,  and  to  give  to  the  people  authentic  informa- 
tion of  the  acts  and  aims  of  the  administration,  President  Mc- 
Kinley  presents  at  some  length  in  excerpts  from  his  messages 
and  other  state  papers,  the  events  of  importance  leading  up  to  the 
present  situation,  and  then  says  of  the  Filipinos  : 

"  Bvery  effort  has  been  directed  to  their  peace  and  prosperity, 
their  advancement  and  well  being,  not  for  our  aggrandizement 
nor  for  pride  of  might,  nor  for  trade  or  commerce,  not  for  exploita- 
tion, but  for  humanity  and  civilization,  and  for  the  protection  of 
the  vast  majority  of  the  population  who  welcome  our  sovereignty 
against  the  designing  minority  whose  first  demand  after  the 
surrender  of  Manila  by  the  Spanish  army,  was  to  enter  the  city 
that  they  might  loot  it  and  destroy  those  not  in  svmpathy  with 
their  selfish  and  treacherous  designs. 

WHAT  WAS  TO  BE  DONE? 

"Would  not  our  adversaries  have  sent  Dewey's  fleet  to 
Manila  to  capture  and  destroy  the  Spanish  sea  power  there,  or, 
despatching  it  there,  would  they  have  withdrawn  it  after  the  de- 
struction of  the  Spanish  fleet ;  and  if  the  latter,  whither  would 
they  have  directed  it  to  sail  ?  Where  could  it  have  gone  ?  What 
port  of  the  Orient  was  open  to  it  ?  Do  our  adversaries  condemn 
the  expedition  under  the  command  of  General  Merritt  to 
strengthen  Dewey  in  the  distant  ocean  and  assist  in  our  triumph 
over  Spain,  with  which  nation  we  were  at  war  ?  Was  it  not  our 
highest  duty  to  strike  Spain  at  every  vulnerable  point,  that  the  war 
might  be  successfully  concluded  at  the  earliest  practical  moment? 

"And  was  it  not  our  duty  to  protect  the  lives  and  property  of 
those  who  came  within  our  control  by  the  fortunes  of  war? 


182  McKINLEY  ON   THE  CONDITION   OF  THE   COUNTRY. 

Could  we  have  come  away  at  any  time  between  May  i,  1898,  and 
the  conclusion  of  peace  without  a  stain  upon  our  good  name  ? 
Could  we  have  come  away  without  dishonor  at  any  time  after  the 
ratification  of  the  peace  treaty  by  the  Senate  of  the  United 
States  ? 

"  There  has  been  no  time  since  the  destruction  of  the  enemy's 
fleet  when  we  could  or  should  have  left  the  Philippine  archi- 
pelago. After  the  treaty  of  peace  was  ratified,  no  power  but  Con- 
gress could  surrender  our  sovereignty  or  alienate  a  foot  of  the 
territory  thus  acquired.  The  Congress  has  not  seen  fit  to  do  one 
or  the  other,  and  the  President  had  no  authority  to  do  either  if  he 
had  been  so  inclined,  which  he  was  not.  So  long  as  the  sover- 
eignty remains  in  us  it  is  the  duty  of  the  executive,  whoever  he 
may  be,  to  uphold  that  sovereignty,  and  if  it  be  attacked  to  sup- 
press its  assailants.  Would  our  political  adversaries  do  less  ? 

THE  REAL  ISSUE. 

"  With  all  the  exaggerated  phrase-making  of  this  electoral 
contest  we  are  in  danger  of  being  diverted  from  the  real  conten- 
tion. We  are  in  agreement  with  all  of  those  who  supported  the 
war  with  Spain,  and  also  with  those  who  counseled  the  ratification 
of  the  treaty  of  peace.  Upon  these  two  great  essential  steps 
there  can  be  no  issue,  and  out  of  these  came  all  of  our  responsi- 
bilities. If  others  would  shirk  the  obligations  imposed  by  the 
war  and  the  treaty,  we  must  decline  to  act  further  with  them,  and 
here  the  issue  was  made. 

"  It  is  our  purpose  to  establish  in  the  Philippines  a  govern- 
ment suitable  to  the  wants  and  conditions  of  the  inhabitants,  and 
to  prepare  them  for  self-government,  and  to  give  them  self- 
government  when  they  are  ready  for  it,  and  as  rapidly  as  they 
are  read}'-  for  it.  That  I  am  aiming  to  do  under  my  constitutional 
authority,  and  will  continue  to  do  until  Congress  shall  determine 
the  political  status  of  the  inhabitants  of  the  archipelago. 

"  Are  our  opponents  against  the  treaty?  If  so  they  must  be 
reminded  that  it  could  not  have  been  ratified  in  the  Senate  but 
for  their  assistance,  The. Senate  which  ratified  the  treaty  and 


McKINLEY  ON   THE   CONDITION   OF  THE   COUNTRY.  183 

the  Congress  which  added  its  sanction  by  a  large  appropriation 
comprised  Senators  and  Representatives  of  the  people  of  all 
parties. 

"Would  our  opponents  surrender  to  the  insurgents,  abandon 
our  sovereignty  or  cede  it  to  them  ?  If  that  be  not  their  purpose, 
then  it  should  promptly  be  disclaimed  for  only  evil  can  result 
from  the  hopes  raised  by  our  opponents  in  the  minds  of  the 
Filipinos,  that  with  their  success  at  the  polls  in  November  there 
will  be  a  withdrawal  of  our  army  and  of  American  sovereignty 
over  the  archipelago  ;  the  complete  independence  of  the  Tagalog 
people  recognized  and  the  powers  of  government  over  all  the 
other  people  of  the  archipelago  conferred  upon  the  Tagalog  leaders. 

RUSHING  US  ON  TO  WAR. 

"  There  were  those  who,  two  years  ago,  were  rushing  us  on  to 
war  with  Spain,  who  are  unwilling  now  to  accept  its  clear  conse- 
quence, as  there  are  those  among  us  who  advocated  the  ratification 
of  the  treaty  of  peace,  but  now  protest  against  its  obligations. 
Nations  which  go  to  war  must  be  prepared  to  accept  its  resultant 
obligations,  and  when  they  make  treaties  must  keep  them. 

"  Those  who  profess  to  distrust  the  liberal  and  honorable  pur- 
poses of  the  administration  in  its  treatment  of  the  Philippines  are 
not  j  ustified.  Imperialism  has  no  place  in  its  creed  or  conduct. 
Freedom  is  a  rock  upon  which  the  Republican  party  was  builded, 
and  now  rests.  Liberty  is  the  great  Republican  doctrine  for 
which  the  people  went  to  war,  and  for  which  a  million  lives  were 
offered  and  billions  of  dollars  were  expended  to  make  it  a  lawful 
legacy  of  all,  without  the  consent  of  master  or  slave. 

"  If  our  opponents  would  only  practice  as  well  as  preach  the 
doctrines  of  Abraham  Lincoln,  there  would  be  no  fear  for  the 
safety  of  our  institutions  at  home  or  their  rightful  influence  in 
any  territory  over  which  our  flag  floats.  Empire  has  been  ex- 
pelled from  Porto  Rico  and  the  Philippines  by  American  freemen. 
The  flag  of  the  Republic  now  floats  over  these  islands  as  an 
emblem  of  rightful  sovereignty.  Will  the  Republic  stay  and 
dispense  to  their  inhabitants  the  blessing  of  liberty,  education 


184  McKINLEY  ON   THE  CONDITION   OF  THE  COUNTRY. 

and  free  institutions,  or  steal  away,  leaving  them  to  anarchy  and 
imperialism  ? 

"  The  American  question  is  between  duty  and  desertion — the 
American  verdict  will  be  for  duty  and  against  desertion  ;  for  the 
Republic,  against  both  anarchy  and  imperialism. 

"  The  country  has  been  fully  advised  of  the  purposes  of  the 
United  States  in  China,  and  they  will  be  faithfully  adhered  to  as 
already  defined. 

"  Not  only  have  we  reason  for  thanksgiving  for  our  material 
blessings,  but  we  should  rejoice  in  the  complete  unification  of  the 
people  of  all  sections  of  our  country  that  has  so  happily 
developed  in  the  last  few  years  and  made  for  us  a  more  perfect 
Union. 

"The  obliteration  of  old  differences,  the  common  devotion  to 
the  flag  and  the  common  sacrifices  for  its  honor,  so  conspicuously 
shown  by  the  men  of  the  North  and  the  South  in  the  Spanish 
war,  have  so  strengthened  the  ties  of  friendship  and  mutual 
respect  that  nothing  can  ever  divide  us.  The  nation  faces  the 
new  century  gratefully  and  hopefully,  with  increasing  love  of 
country,  with  firm  faith  in  its  free  institutions  and  with  high 
resolve  that  they  '  shall  not  perish  from  the  earth.' 

"  Very  respectfully  yours, 

"  WILLIAM  M'KINLEY." 

It  was  universally  conceded  that  in  this  letter  Mr.  McKin- 
ley  had  furnished  a  masterly  statement  of  the  political  condition 
of  our  country.  It  was  the  thoughtful  estimate  of  a  statesman 
and  a  patriot — one  who  loved  his  country  and  rejoiced  in  her  pros- 
perity. His  statements  were  gratifying  to  all  parts  of  the  land. 
He  paid  a  high  and  merited  compliment  to  the  soldiers  of  every 
section  who  sprang  to  arms  at  the  outbreak  of  our  war  with 
Spain. 

His  knowledge  of  the  interior  condition  and  prospects  of  our 
commercial  trade  enabled  him  to  speak  with  authority  upon  these 
points  and  his  language  was  reassuring.  It  was  a  message  of 
good  cheer  to  the  nation. 


PRINCIPAL  EVENTS    DURING  PRESIDENT 
McKINLEY'S  ADMINISTRATION. 

1897. 
Inaugurated  March  4. 

Fifty-fifth  Congress  convened  March  15. 

A  new  Extradition  Treaty  between  the  United  States  and  Brazil 

signed  at  Rio,  May  16. 
Dingley  Tariff  law  passed,  July  24. 
Attorney-General  Joseph  McKenna,  of  California,  appointed  to  the 

Supreme  Bench,  December  16. 

1898. 

City  of  Greater  New  York  inaugurated,  January  i. 

J.  W.  Griggs,  of  New  Jersey,  Attorney-General,  January  25. 

Meeting  of  the  National  Monetary  Convention  at  Indianapolis  to 

devise  currency  reform,  January  25. 

The  battleship  Maine  destroyed  in  Havana  harbor,  February  15. 
Congress  appropriates  $50,000,000  for  national  defence,  March  8. 
Congress  recognizes  Cuban  independence,  April  16. 
War  declared  against  Spain,  April  21. 

Resignation  of  John  Sherman,  Secretary  of  State,  April  25. 
Dewey  destroys  the  Spanish  fleet  at  Manila,  May  i. 
Lieutenant  Hobson  sinks  the  "  Merrimac,"  June  3. 
Cervera's  squadron  destroyed  off  Santiago,  July  3. 
Hawaii  annexed  to  the  United  States,  July  6. 
Treaty  of  peace  signed  with  Spain,  December  10. 

1899. 

Flag  raised  over  Guam,  February  i. 

Treaty  of  peace  with  Spain  ratified  by  Senate,  February  6. 

First  encounter  between  Americans  and  Filipinos,  February  4. 

Peace  Conference  at  the  Hague,  May  18. 

Resignation  of  Russell  A.  Alger,  Secretary  of  War,  July  19. 

Blihu  Root  appointed  Secretary  of  War,  July  22. 

Thomas  B.  Reed  resigns  his  place  in  Congress,  August  22. 

The  Venezuela  award  made,  October  3. 

185 


186        PRINCIPAL  EVENTS  DURING  McKINLEY'S  ADMINISTRATION. 

A  modus  vivendi  anent  the  Alaskan  boundary  dispute  adopted, 

October  12. 

Samoan  treaty  signed,  December  2. 
Lawton  killed  in  the  Philippines,  December  19. 

1900. 

The  United  States  Senate  ratified  the  Samoan  treaty,  January  16. 
President  McKinley  signed  the  gold  standard  bill,  March  14. 
Foraker  Porto  Rican  Act  passed  by  Congress,  April  12. 
Chinese  begin  their  attacks  on  the  Legations  in  Pekin,  June  19. 
McKinley  renominated  at  Philadelphia,  June  21. 
The  allies  capture  Pekin,  August  14. 
John  Sherman  died,  October  22. 
A  convention  to  frame  a  constitution  for  Cuba  began  its  sessions 

at  Havana,  November  5. 
McKinley  re-elected,  November  6. 
Ministers  of  the  powers  in  Pekin  sign  a  joint  note,  December  22. 

1901. 

Hopkins  reapportionment  bill  defeated,  January  8. 
Incorporatian  of  the  billion  dollar  Steel  Trust,  February  23. 
Death  of  William  M.  Kvarts,  February  28. 
The  adoption  of  the  Platt  Amendment,  February  28. 
President  McKinley'  second  Inauguration,  March  4. 
Death  of  former  President  Harrison,  March  13. 
Capture  of  Aguinaldo,  March  23. 

President  McKinley  started  on  his  Western  tour  April  20. 
Western  tour  abandoned  because  of  Mrs.  McKiuley's  ill   health, 

May  12. 

Pan-American  Exposition  opened  at  Buffalo,  May  i. 
Supreme  Court's  decision  on  the  Insular  Cases,  May  27. 
President  McKinley  positively  refused  to  be  a  candidate  for  a 

third  term,  June  n. 
President   McKinley  arrived   at    Buffalo  and  made   his   famous 

address  at  the  Pan-American  Exposition,  September  5. 
Assassinated,  September  6. 


PRESIDENT  McKINLEY'S  LIFE  IN  BRIEF. 

1843 — Born  at  Niles,  Truinbull  county,  O.,  January  29. 

1 86 1 — Enlisted  in  Twenty-third  Ohio  Volunteer  Infantry  at  the 
age  of  eighteen. 

1865 — Mustered  out  of  service  with  rank  of  Captain  and  Brevet 
Major. 

1869  to  1871 — Prosecuting  Attorney  of  Stark  county. 

1879 — Elected  to  Fifty-fifth  Congress. 

1888 — Refused  to  allow  his  name  to  be  presented  for  the  Presi- 
dency, and  held  Ohio  delegation  for  Senator  John  Sherman. 

1889 — Became  Chairman  of  the  Ways  and  Means  Committee  of 
the  House  of  Representatives  and  drafted  McKinley  tariff  bill. 

1890 — Defeated  for  re-election  to  Congress. 

1891 — Retired  from  Congress  March  4. 

1891 — Elected  Governor  of  Ohio. 

1893 — Re-elected  Governor  of  Ohio. 

1896 — Nominated  for  President  and  elected  by  a  plurality  of 
814,831. 

1897 — Inaugurated  President  March  4. 

1900 — Re-nominated  and  re-elected  President  by  a  plurality  of 
832,280. 

1901 — Inaugurated  President  for  second  term  March  4. 

1901 — Shot  down  by  an  assassin  at  Buffalo,  September  6. 

1901 — Died  at  Buffalo,  September  14. 

1901 — Obsequies  at  Buffalo,  at  Washington  and  Canton,  Septem- 
ber 15,  17  and  19. 

The  pathetic  circumstances  of  the  death  of  President 
McKinley,  the  simple  manliness  with  which  he  faced  "  the  doom 
we  dread,"  the  infinite  cruelty  and  appalling  injustice  of  his 
assassination  and  the  profound  sympathy  felt  for  his  invalid  wife 
make  it  difficult  if  not  impossible  to  speak  of  the  career  of  the 
dead  ruler  with  the  moderation  of  the  careful  historian.  The 
critical  spirit  is  dumb  in  the  presence  of  the  dead  who  die  for  the 
nation,  as  McKinley  died.  In  the  hours  of  dire  foreboding  and 
of  physical  pain,  as  when  he  became  conscious  of  the  inevitable 
end,  he  was  the  patient,  uncomplaining  and  brave  man  who  meets 

137 


188  McKINLEY  ON  THE  CONDITION   OF  THE  COUNTRY. 

the  worst  without  bravado  but  also  without  fear,  and  who  accepts 
the  decree  of  death  as  the  will  of  Heaven.  At  no  time  in  his 
varied  and  successful  career  had  his  character  seemed  so  admir- 
able as  in  the  last  trying  hours. 

THE  THREE  MARTYRED  PRESIDENTS. 

The  careers  of  no  public  men  better  represent  the  possibili- 
ties of  American  life  than  those  of  the  three  Presidents  who  have 
fallen  at  the  hands  of  assassins.  All  were  poor  boys  with  no 
other  aids  to  ambition  than  their  own  qualities  of  character.  In 
his  amiable  frailties  as  a  public  man  not  less  that  in  his  strong- 
est attributes  the  President  whose  death  we  mourn  was  a  repre- 
sentative American.  Born  in  Ohio  where  the  streams  of  trans- 
allegheny  migration  from  North  and  South  met  and  commingled 
and  political  agitation  was  ceaseless,  at  a  time  when  the  over- 
shadowing sectional  question  pressed  for  final  settlement,  and 
having  been  educated  chiefly  in  the  public  schools,  where  all  the 
influence  was  democratic,  it  was  natural  and  almost  inevitable 
that  the  first  ambition  of  the  young  man  William  McKinley 
shoul  be  political. 

He  demonstrated  the  depth  and  sincerity  of  his  youthful 
patriotism  by  enlisting  as  a  private  soldier  in  the  volunteer  army 
for  the  preservation  of  the  Union.  In  that  service  he  revealed  an 
amiability  of  temperament  which  easily  won  the  votes  of  his  fel- 
lows in  favor  of  his  promotion  and  assured  the  popularity  of  his 
later  years.  He  was  a  friendly  man,  and  he  loved  his  fellow  men. 

At  the  time  when  as  a  young  lawyer  William  McKinley 
entered  actively  into  politics  party  lines  were  strongly  drawn. 
Not  to  be  a  Republican  was  almost  to  be  a  traitor  in  the  eyes  of 
the  leaders  of  "  Ben  "  Wade's  type.  It  would  have  been  peculiar 
if  young  McKinley  had  been  less  devoted  to  his  party  or  less 
submissive  to  its  decrees.  The  spirit  of  that  time  continued  to 
influence  his  political  actions  throughout  his  lifetime,  and  it  will 
account  for  the  degree  to  which  the  President  was  willing  to 
recede  from  his  own  opinion  whenever  it  was  opposed  by  the 
aggressive  leaders  of  his  party. 


CHAPTER   IX 

Story  of  the  Assassination  of  President  McKinley  —  Graphic 
Picture  of  the  Tragic  Act  —  The  Assassjn  Caught  and 
Roughly  Handled  —  Public  Indignation  and  Horror. 


minutes  before  the  appalling  tragedy  that  ended  the  life 
of  the  President,  the  dense  crowd  was  in  the  most  cheerful 
humor,  In  the  Temple  of  Music,  at  the  Pan  American  Exposition 
In  Buffalo.  The  police  had  experienced  no  trouble  of  any  kind, 
and  when  the  President's  carriage,  containing  besides  the  Chief 
Executive,  President  Milburn  of  the  Pan-American  Exposition, 
and  Private  Secretary  Cortelyou  drove  up  to  the  side  entrance  of 
the  Temple,  it  was  met  by  a  mighty  salute  of  cheers  and 
applause. 

The  three  gentlemen  alighted,  and  were  escorted  to  the  door 
of  the  building.  Immediately  the  carriage  containing  Secret 
Service  Operatives,  George  Foster  and  S.  R.  Ireland  drove  up, 
and  these  detectives,  with  several  other  Secret  Service  men,  en- 
tered the  building  together.  Inside  they  were  met  by  Directoi 
General  Buchanan,  who  had  arrived  but  a  moment  before,  and  he 
directed  them  as  to  where  to  stand. 

In  passing  to  the  place,  the  President  took  off  his  hat  and 
smiled  pleasantly  to  a  little  group  of  newspaper  men  and  to  the 
guards  which  |had  been  sationed  in  the  place.  To  one  of  the 
reporters  he  spoke,  smilingly,  saying  :  "  It  is  much  cooler  in  here 
isn't  it  ?  "  The  interior  of  the  building  had  been  arranged  for  the 
purpose.  From  the  main  entrance,  which  opens  to  the  southeast 
from  the  Temple  on  the  wide  esplanade,  where  the  thousands  had 
gathered,  an  aisle  had  been  made  through  the  rows  of  seats  in  the 
building  to  near  the  centre. 

This  aisle  was  about  eight  feet  wide,  and  turned  near  the 
centre  to  the  southwest  door  of  the  temple,  so  that  there  was  a 
passage  dividing  the  south  part  of  the  structure  into  a  right 

189 


19Q  STORY  OF  THE  ASSASSINATION. 

angle.  It  was  so  arranged  that  the  people,  who  would  shake  hands 
with  the  President  would  enter  at  the  southeast  door,  meet  the 
President  in  the  centre  and  then  pass  on  out  the  southwest  door. 
From  the  southeast  door,  and  extending  on  up  to  and  around 
the  curve,  was  a  line  of  soldiers  from  the  Seventy-third  Sea  Coast 
Artillery  on  either  side,  and  these  were  interspersed  with  neatly 
uniformed  guards  from  the  Exposition  police,  under  the  command 
of  Captain  Darner.  When  the  Presidential  party  was  within  the 
building,  the  soldiers  were  ordered  to  come  to  "  attention,"  and 
all  took  their  places. 

WAITING  FOR  THE  CROWD. 

The  President  was  escorted  to  the  centre  of  the  palm  bower, 
and  Mr.  Milburn  took  a  position  on  his  left  so  as  to  introduce  the 
people  as  they  came  in.  Secretary  Cortelyou  stood  by  the  Presi- 
dent to  the  right,  Secret  Service  Operator  Foster,  who  has 
traveled  everywhere  with  the  President,  took  a  position  not  more 
than  two  feet  in  front  of  Mr.  Miburn,  and  Secret  Service  Opera- 
tor Ireland  stood  by  his  left,  so  that  he  was  the  same  distance  in 
front  of  the  President  as  was  Foster  in  front  of  the  Exposition 
President. 

Through  this  narrow  two-foot  passage  the  people,  who  would 
meet  the  President,  must  pass,  and  when  all  was  ready,  with 
detectives  scattered  throughout  the  aisle,  the  President  smiled  to 
Mr.  Buchanan,  who  \vas  standing  near  the  corporal  in  charge  of 
the  artillerymen,  and  said  that  he  was  ready  to  meet  the  people. 
He  was  very  pleasant  and,  as  he  waited  for  the  doors  to  open,  he 
rubbed  his  hands  together,  adj  usted  his  long  Prince  Albert  coat, 
and  laughingly  chatted  with  Mr.  Milburn,  while  Secretary  Cor- 
telyou gave  a  last  few  instructions  to  the  officers  as  to  the  manner 
in  which  the  crowds  were  to  be  hurried  on  through,  so  that  as 
many  as  possible  could  meet  the  Executive. 

Mr.  Milburn  ordered  the  door  open  and  immediately  a  waver- 
ing line  of  people,  who  had  been  squeezed  against  the  outside  of 
the  door  for  hours,  began  to  wend  its  way  up  through  the  line 
of  soldiers  and  police  to  the  place  where  the  President  stood.  An 


GROUND  PLAN  OF  THE  PAN-AMERICAN  EXPOSITION  AT  BUFFALO. 


191 


J92  STORY  OF  TH£  ASSASSINATION. 

oid  man,  with  silvery  white  hair,  was  the  first  to  reach  the 
President,  and  the  little  girl  he  carried  on  his  shoulder  received  a 
warm  salutation. 

Organist  W.  J.  Gomph  started  on  the  sonata  in  F,  by  Bach  ; 
low  at  first,  and  swelling  gradually  to  more  majestic  proportions, 
until  the  whole  auditorium  was  filled  with  the  melodious  tones  of 
the  big  pipe  organ. 

The  crowd  had  been  pouring  through  hardly  more  than  five 
minutes,  when  the  organist  brought  from  his  powerful  instrument 
its  loudest  notes,  drowning  even  the  scuffle  of  feet.  About  half 
of  the  people  who  passed  the  President  were  women  and  children. 

TOOK  SPECIAL  NOTICE  OF  THE  CHILDREN. 

To  every  child  the  President  bent  over,  shook  hands  warmly 
and  said  some  kinds  words,  so  as  to  make  the  young  heart  glad. 
As  each  person  passed  he  was  viewed  critically  by  the  secret  ser- 
vice men.  Their  hands  were  watched,  their  faces  and  actions 
noted.  Far  down  the  line  a  man  of  unusual  aspect,  to  some, 
appeared,  taking  his  turn  in  the  line.  He  was  short,  heavy,  dark, 
and  beneath  a  heavy  mustache  was  a  pair  of  straight,  bloodless 
lips.  Under  the  black  brows  gleamed  a  pair  of  glistening  black 
eyes.  He  was  picked  at  once  as  a  suspicious  person,  and  when  he 
reached  Foster,  the  secret  service  man,  he  held  his  hand  on  him 
until  he  had  reached  the  President  and  had  clasped  his  hand. 
Ireland  was  equally  alert,  and  the  slightest  move  on  the  part  of 
this  man,  who  is  now  supposed  to  have  been  an  accomplice,  and 
for  whom  a  search  was  promptly  made,  would  have  been  checked 
by  the  officers. 

Immediately  following  this  man  was  the  assassin.  He  was 
a  rather  tall,  boyish  looking  fellow,  apparently  twenty-five  years 
old,  he  was  born  in  America  of  Polish  parents.  His  smooth, 
rather  pointed  face  would  not  indicate  his  purpose  of  slaying  the 
National  Executive. 

The  Secret  Service  men  noted  that  about  his  right  hand  was 
wrapped  a  handkerchief,  and  as  he  carried  the  hand  uplifted, 
although  supported  by  a  sling  under  his  coat,  the  officers  believed 


STORY  OF  THE  ASSASSINATION.  193 

his  hand  was  injured,  and  especially  as  he  extended  his  left  hand 
across  the  right  so  as  to  shake  hands  with  the  President. 

It  was  noticed  that  the  Italian  who  was  in  front  ot  the 
assassin  held  back,  apparently  to  shield  the  young  man,  so  that 
it  was  necessary  for  Ireland  to  push  him  on. 

Innocently  facing  the  assassin,  the  President  smiled  as  he 
extended  his  right  hand  to  meet  the  left  of  the  man  before  him. 
As  the  youth  extended  his  left  hand  he  whipped  out  his  right 
hand,  the  one  which  held  the  revolver,  and  before  any  one  knew 
what  was  transpiring,  two  shots  rang  out,  one  following  the  other 
after  the  briefest  portion  of  a  second.  For  the  first  moment  there 
was  not  a  sound. 

HE  SUDDENLY    REELED  BACK. 

The  President  drew  his  right  hand  quickly  to  his  chest, 
raised  his  head  and  his  eyes  looked  upward  and  rolled.  He 
swerved  a  moment,  reeled  and  was  caught  in  the  arms  of  Secre- 
tary Cortelyou  to  his  right.  Catching  himself  for  the  briefest 
second,  President  McKinley,  whose  face  was  now  the  whiteness 
of  death,  looked  at  the  assassin  as  the  officers  and  soldiers  bore 
him  to  the  floor,  and  said  feebly,  "  May  God  forgive  him."  The 
President  was  carried  first  one  way,  then  a  step  in  another  direc- 
tion. The  excitement  was  so  sudden  and  the  pandemonium  so 
great,  that  for  a  minute  no  one  knew  what  to  do.  Finally,  some 
one  said  to  carry  him  inside  the  purple  edge  of  the  aisle  and  seat 
him.  This  was  the  only  thing  to  do  at  the  moment  and  prepa- 
rations were  made  at  once  to  find  a  resting  place. 

A  couple  of  men  tore  the  benches  aside  and  trampled  the 
bunting  down,  while  Mr.  Milburn  and  Secretary  Cortelyou  half 
carried  the  President  over  the  line  and  into  the  passageway  leading 
to  the  stage,  which  had  not  been  used.  The  President  was  able 
to  walk  a  little,  but  was  leaning  easily  on  his  escorts.  In  passing 
over  the  bunting  his  foot  caught,  and  for  a  moment  he  stumbled. 
A  reporter  extricated  the  wounded  man's  foot,  and  the  President 
was  carried  to  a  seat,  where  a  half  dozen  men  stood  by  and  fanned 
him  vigorously, 

13 


194  STORY  OF  THE  ASSASSINATION. 

Quick  call  was  sent  for  doctors  and  to  the  ambulance. 
While  seated  for  a  moment,  Secretary  Cortelyou  leaned  over 
the  President,  and  inquired  :  "  Do  you  feel  much  pain  ?  "  White 
and  trembling  the  President  slipped  his  hand  into  the  opening 
of  his  shirt  front,  near  the  heart,  and  said :  "This  wound  pains 
greatly."  As  the  President  withdrew  his  hand,  the  first  and 
second  fingers  were  covered  with  blood.  He  looked  at  them,  his 
hand  dropped  to  his  side,  and  he  became  faint.  His  head 
dropped  heavily  to  his  chest,  and  those  about  him  turned  away. 

"O  MY  GOD,  ARE  YOU   SHOT?" 

Minister  Aspiroz,  of  Mexico,  broke  through  the  little  crowd 
excitedly,  and  awakened  the  faint  into  which  the  President  had 
sunk  by  dramatically  exclaiming  in  English  :  "  O  my  God,  Mr. 
President,  are  you  shot  ?  "  While  the  excited  diplomat  was  being 
restrained  from  caressing  the  Executive,  and  falling  at  his  feet, 
the  President  replied,  gasping  between  each  word:  "Yes — I — 
believe — I — am." 

The  President's  head  then  fell  backward,  he  partially  fainting 
again.  Mr.  Milburn  placed  his  hand  back  of  the  wounded  man's 
head,  and  offered  a  support  for  it.  This  seemed  to  resuscitate  the 
President,  and  afterward  he  sat  stoically  in  the  chair,  his  legs 
spread  out  on  the  floor  and  his  lips  clinched  firmly,  as  though  he 
would  fight  determinedly  against  death,  should  it  be  appearing. 
He  was  giving  the  fight  of  a  soldier,  and  more  than  one  turned 
away,  and  tremblingly — all  in  the  building  trembled  and  shook, 
not  from  fear,  but  the  tension,  and  remarked  :  "  He  is  certainly 
a  soldier." 

While  all  this  was  transpiring,  the  drama  had  not  yet  ended 
on  the  scene  of  the  shooting.  The  shots  had  hardly  been  fired 
when  Foster  and  Ireland  were  on  top  of  the  assassin.  Ireland, 
quick  as  thought,  had  knocked  the  smoking  weapon  from  the 
man's  hand,  and  at  the  same  time  he  and  his  companion  officer, 
with  a  dozen  Exposition  police  and  as  many  artillerymen,  literal!}^ 
crushed  him  to  the  floor.  While  the  President  was  being  led 
away,  the  artillerymen  and  guards  cleared  the  building  in  a  few 


STORY  OF  THE  ASSASSINATION.  195 

minutes  of  those  who  had  entered  to  meet  the  President,  but  to  do 
this  it  was  necessary  to  draw  their  sabre  bayonets  and  use  extreme 
force. 

FOSTER  CLUTCHED  HIM  BY  THE  THROAT. 

Foster  reached  under  the  crowd,  and  by  his  almost  super- 
human strength  pulled  the  intending  murderer  from  under  the 
heap.  The  assassin  was  grabbed  by  a  half  dozen  guards  and 
soldiers  and  by  the  secret  service  men  who  were  near  the  scene 
at  the  time.  Forcing  the  youth,  for  that  is  what  he  is,  to  the 
open,  Foster  clutched  him  by  the  throat  with  his  left  hand,  and 
saying  :  "  You  murderer  !"  then  struck  him  a  most  vicious  blow 
with  his  fist  squarely  in  the  face.  The  blow  was  so  powerful  that 
the  man  was  sent  through  the  guards  and  went  sprawling  upon 
the  floor.  He  hardly  touched  the  floor,  when  he  was  again  set 
upon,  this  time  by  the  guards  and  soldiers.  He  was  kicked 
repeatedly,  until  Captain  Darner  rushed  in  and  drew  back  the 
guards.  Foster  made  another  attempt  to  get  at  the  assassin,  but 
he  was  held  back,  although  he  protested  that  he  had  possession 
of  his  mind  and  that  he  knew  what  he  was  doing.  The  prisoner 
was  hurried  into  a  little  room  just  off  the  west  stage  of  the 
Temple  of  Music,  being  dragged  through  the  crowd  by  Patrolmen 
James  and  McCauley.  His  lip  was  bleeding  and  his  face  was 
swelling  from  James's  blows.  Around  him  there  were  a  group  of 
officers.  Once  inside,  the  door  was  closed  with  a  bang,  and  the 
mob  surging  against  that  door  of  the  building,  with  a  blind  im- 
pulse to  get  near  him,  fairly  made  the  walls  creak. 

The  entire  scene  in  the  room  was  for  a  moment  confusion. 
There  were  eager  officials  going  in  and  out  of  the  door.  Some 
people  were  trying  to  conceal  the  fact  that  the  prisoner  was  there, 
and  others  betraying  the  fact  in  a  loud  voice  as  soon  as  they  had  left 
the  room.  One  excited  Exposition  official  invited  the  people  to  go 
in  and  get  the  man  as  he  hurried  out  on  some  mission  that  had 
come  to  him. 

In  the  room  with  the  prisoner  were  Colonel  Byrne,  Command- 
ant of  the  Exposition  Police;  Captain  Vallely,  Chief  of  the  Detec- 


196  STORY  OF  THE  ASSASSINATION. 

tive  Bureau  ;  Detective  Ziegler,  Buffalo  Police  Detectives  Solomon 
and  Geary,  Secret  Servicemen  Sam  Ireland,  Foster  and  Captain 
Darner,  of  the  Exposition  Police  ;  Major  Robertson  of  the  Exposi- 
tion Police  ;  Mr.  John  N.  Scatchered  and  a  few  others  coming  and 
going. 

COWARDLY  CONDUCT  OF  THE  ASSASSIN. 

Czolgosz  was  on  the  table  in  the  room,  and  sat  there,  now  and 
then  putting  his  sleeve  to  his  lip  ;  at  other  times  looking  at  the 
floor  or  keeping  his  shoes  close  together,  rubbing  them  nervously. 
He  would  now  and  then  breathe  deeply  with  his  nervous 
agitation,  but  for  other  signs  there  were  none.  He  remained  silent. 
Outside  the  building  could  be  seen  the  great  tumultuous  throng 
of  people.  From  all  quarters  of  the  grounds  they  were  gathering 
toward  the  common  centre.  Now  and  then  a  woman's  face,  red 
with  the  heat,  could  be  seen  peering  up  over  the  heads  of  those  in 
front,  and  struggling  to  raise  her  hand,  she  would  wipe  away  the 
tears  from  her  eyes-  On  a  lofty  porch  on  one  of  the  great  staff 
flower  jardinieres  an  old  man,  with  a  long  white  beard,  a  broad 
brimmed  veteran's  hat  and  a  G.  A.  R.  button  in  his  lapel,  sat 
shaking  his  head  in  sorrow. 

Now  and  then  some  man's  voice  would  call  out,  "  Don't  let 
him  get  away  !  "  and  there  would  be  a  score  of  answering  shouts  of 
"Kill  him!  Hang  him  !"  "Take  him  up  on  the  arch  and  burn 
him!" 

Around  the  main  doors  was  a  squad  of  fifteen  police  and  a  detach- 
ment of  the  United  States  marines.  They  had  just  arrived  at 
the  station  and  were  in  command  of  Captain  Leonard.  Thev 
formed  their  line,  and  in  a  loud  clear  voice,  came  the  order, 
"Load  rifles!"  The  breeches  clicked,  and  the  men  held  up  to 
plain  view  the  hard  steel  and  the  encasing  brass  as  they  filled  the 
Lee-Metfords  with  cartridges.  The  moral  effect  was  obvious,  for 
the  women  started  the  movement  to  draw  back,  and  the  tense 
wave  of  vengeance  seemed  broken.  Men  and  women  who  had 
been  dry  eyed  began  to  cry.  The  lips  of  soldiers  and  policemen 
were  twitching,  but  the  heads  on  the  broad  shoulders  were 


STORY  OF  THE  ASSASSINATION.  197 

motionless  as  the  breath  was  held  firm  and  steady.  So  men 
look  when  facing  -  nughty  duty,  with  a  mighty  heart.  The 
little  room,  where  fhe  prisonei  was,  contained  a  quantity  of  rope 
of  different  size?  and  sorts.  It  is  the  rope  used  for  shutting  oft 
the  esplanade  at  times  or  dnll  and  especial  fetes.  "Rope  off 
the  south  approaches  *o  the  building  so  that  we  can  get  the  wagon 
inhere,''  said  Colonel  Byrne.  "You  will  never  get  that  wagon 
with  him  in  it  forty  feet  away,"  said  Sam  Ireland. 

HURRYING  THE  CULPRIT  TO  PRISON. 

"  We  must  have  a  carriage  and  horses  ;  the  people  can  stop 
an  automobile  better  than  they  can  horses."  Some  distance 
away  was  the  carriage  in  which  a  portion  of  the  committee  had 
come  to  the  Temple  of  Music. 

"Get  that  carriage  over  there,"  said  Scatcherd  to  the  sergeant 
of  the  police  at  the  southwest  door.  On  the  box  of  the  carriage 
was  a  stockily  built  little  Irish  coachman.  As  he  received  his 
orders  that  it  was  to  be  his  carriage  that  was  to  take  away  the 
would-be  assassin  through  that  eager,  bloodthirsy,  vengeful  mob, 
a  slow  smile  of  pleasure  spread  into  a  delighted  grin.  "All  right," 
he  said  curtly,  and  never  another  word  until  the  prisoner  was  safe 
behind  bars. 

"  Colonel  Byrne,  send  for  another  platoon  of  police.  Had  you 
not  better  get  them  from  the  Second  Precinct  ?  Gentlemen,  every 
minute  of  this  delay  is  making  the  task  all  the  more  dangerous. 
This  crowd  is  getting  more  and  more  worked  up,  and  it  is  getting 
bigger.  It  reaches  way  out  over  the  esplanade  now.  Give  this 
man  to  me,  and  I  give  you  my  word  I  will  get  him  to  Buffalo. 
Here  are  two  Buffalo  officers  who  will  go  with  me." 

"The  best  plan  is  to  jump  him  right  into  this  carriage 
coming,  and  get  right  out  of  here,"  said  Samuel  Ireland..  Captain 
Darner  and  Colonel  Byrne  quietly  directed  exterior  movements  of 
the  police  and  informed  the  military  guards,  both  marines  and 
artillerymen. 

The  roped  off  space  was  sufficient  to  admit  the  carriage. 
Colonel  Byrne  gave  the  signal.  Guards  James  and  McCauley 


198  STORY  OF  THE  ASSASSINATION. 

were  on  either  side  of  the  prisoner  on  the  edge  of  the  table.  Cap- 
tain Vallely  led  the  way,  and  Detectives  Solomon  and  Geary  j  ust 
behind.  The  Irish  coachman  whipped  up  his  team,  dashed  into 
the  door,  the  marines  and  artillerymen  dropped  their  guns  till 
the  bayonets  were  at  charge.  The  carriage  drew  up  at  the  door, 
a  policeman  swung  open  the  carriage  door.  The  door  of  the 
southwest  entrance,  leading  into  the  little  room  opened,  and  out 
came  the  prisoner  and  convoy.  He  was  literally  hurled  into  the 
carriage  by  the  burly  patrolmen.  Secret  Serviceman  Foster 
slammed  the  door,  and  the  carriage  was  off  on  a  mad  dash  for  the 
triumphal  causeway  and  the  Lincoln  Park  gateway  beyond. 

WILD  CRIES  FROM  THE  ENRAGED  CROWD. 

At  the  minute  the  carriage  drew  up  a  wild  mad  surge  of  the 
people  came  from  all  the  other  doors,  for  a  ragged  yell  had  gone 
up,  "  Here  he  comes!  This  door,  this  door! "  The  lines  of  soldiers 
and  policemen  swayed  but  held  firm.  "There  he  is  !  Kill  him  ! 
Kill  him!  Hit  him!  Hit  him!  Don't  let  that  carriage  get  away, 
you  cowards!  Stop  it!  Hang  him!  Kill  the  bloody  Anarchist!" 
was  a  Bedlam  of  curses  and  yells  from  people  fighting  in  closer, 
waving  their  fists,  with  here  and  there  a  revolver  gleaming,  as  its 
bearer  threw  it  up  in  the  sunlight  above  his  head  for  the  safety  of 
those  around  him.  The  roar  of  that  mob  was  a  sound  never  to 
be  forgotten  by  any  who  have  heard  it.  It  had  the  deadly,  intense 
growl,  the  wild,  bloodthirsty  shriek,  and  the  savage  note  that  is 
heard  only  in  the  voices  of  the  angered  mob. 

As  the  carriage  moved  away  Captain  Vallely  swung  himself 
free  from  the  crowd  of  officers  and  leaped  with  one  bound  to  the 
seat  beside  the  coachman.  As  the  carriage  forged  its  way  to  the 
limit  beyond  the  rope  men,  and  even  women,  sprang  forward  and 
caught  the  fenders,  snatched  at  the  horses'  harness,  and  scores  of 
them  were  struck  by  the  horses'  shoulders  as  the  crowd  behind 
refused  to  let  them  retire  sufficiently  to  make  passageway.  The 
driver  had  a  long,  keen  whip  and  plied  it  alternatively  on  the 
horses  and  the  faces  and  heads  of  the  crowd.  Once,  as  the 
carriage  neared  the  triumphal  causeway,  the  crush  became  too 


STORY  OF  THE  ASSASSINATION.  199 

dense  for  it  to  seem  possible  to  force  through.  Behind  strong 
limbed,  angry  men  were  in  pursuit  in  the  wake,  'the  carriage  had 
seemed  to  swirl  them  in,  and  they  were  frantically  endeavor- 
ing to  find  a  hold  on  the  smooth,  polished  surface  and  the  rounded 
corners  as  they  would  slip  and  fall  and  be  trampled  on. 

TERRIBLE  EXECRATIONS  ON  THE  ASSASSIN. 

It  looked  as  if  the  carriage  was  going  to  be  stopped  in  front, 
but  the  coachman  smiled,  and  standing  up  sped  his  long  lash  out 
in  front  over  the  horses'  heads.  They  increased  their  speed  to  a 
gallop  and  the  crowd  succeeded  in  opening.  Once  on  the  cause- 
way all  was  well,  for  the  outer  limits  of  the  crowd  had  been  reached 
and  the  narrowness  of  the  way  beyond,  as  well  as  the  downhill 
slope,  facilitated  the  movement. 

Hard  and  fast  the  carriage  went  to  the  Lincoln  Park  gate, 
which  swung  open  as  the  carriage  drew  near.  From  this  point 
straight  down  Delaware  avenue  the  journey  was  uninterrupted, 
only  that  three  or  four  bicyclists  followed,  and  spread  the  news. 
The  prisoner  from  the  moment  he  had  touched  the  cushions  of  the 
carriage  cowered  in  the  rear  left  hand  corner,  now  and  then  rais- 
ing his  head  ;  as  he  would  look  out  of  the  windows  when  fighting 
through  the  crowd,  and  he  could  hear  their  awful  impre- 
cations as  they  struggled  to  get  near  enough  to  take  the  vengeance 
of  brutes,  convulsive  shivers  ran  through  his  slender  body,  and  his 
eye.s  rolled  with  terror.  His  lips  were  dry  and  parched,  and  he 
wetted  them  constantly  with  his  tongue.  Just  south  of  Utica 
street  the  carriage  met  the  light  police  wagon,  containing  Super- 
intendent of  Buffalo  Police  Bull,  who  wheeled,  and  followed  the 
carriage  down  to  headquarters,  at  Station  No.  i,  at  the  junction  of 
the  Terrace,  Erie  and  Seneca  streets. 

The  carriage  drew  up  sharply,  and  the  prisoner  was  taken  in 
while  a  score  of  idlers  about  looked  on  with  bare  interest.  A 
moment  later,  the  bike  men  who  were  following  had  told  thejn 
that  the  President  had  been  shot,  and  the  man  who  had  done  it 
was  the  prisoner  who  had  just  been  taken  in.  From  that  germ 
the  mob  fever  grew  and  swelled.  All  over  the  vicinity,  into  the 


200  STORY  OF  THE  ASSASSINATION. 

neighboring  saloons  and  railroad  men's  quarters,  the  tidings  spread 
and  knots  of  people  that  formed  the  nucleus  of  the  downtown  mob 
began  to  collect.  Back  at  the  Temple  of  Music  the  crowd  con- 
tinued to  grow  larger.  Rumors  spread  that  the  man  who  had 
done  the  shooting  was  still  in  the  building,  and  it  was  necessary 
to  hold  the  guards  there  for  hours.  The  very  fact  that  the  guards 
remained  convinced  the  people  that  they  had  been  made  victims  of 
a  ruse,  and  it  was  at  a  late  hour  that  the  last  of  the  throng  dis- 
persed. 

IDENTITY  OF  THE  ASSASSIN  DISCOVERED. 

It  was  learned  by  the  police  shortly  before  midnight  that  the 
man  who  attempted  President  McKinley's  life  is  Leon  F. 
Czolgosz,  a  Polish  lad,  who  came  from  Cleveland. 

The  prisoner  at  first  proved  quite  communicative,  so  much 
so,  in  fact,  that  little  dependence  could  be  placed  on  what  he  said. 
He  first  gave  his  name  as  Fred  Neiman,  said  his  home  was  in 
Detroit,  and  that  he  had  been  in  Buffalo  about  a  week.  He  said 
he  had  been  boarding  at  a  place  in  Broadway.  Later  this  place 
was  located  as  John  Nowak's  saloon,  a  Raines  law  hotel,  No. 
1078  Broadway.  Here  the  prisoner  occupied  room  8.  Nowak, 
the  proprietor,  said  he  knew  very  little  about  his  guest. 

He  came  there,  he  declared,  last  Saturday,  sa}dng  he 
had  come  to  see  the  Pan-American,  and  that  his  home  was  in 
Toledo.  He  had  been  alone  at  all  times  about  Nowak's  place, 
and  had  no  visitors.  In  his  room  was  found  a  small  traveling 
bag  of  cheap  make.  It  contained  an  empty  cartridge  box  and  a 
few  clothes.  With  these  facts  in  hand,  the  police  went  at  the 
prisoner  with  renewed  vigor,  in  the  effort  to  obtain  either  a  full 
confession  or  a  straight  account  of  his  identity  and  movements 
prior  to  his  arrival  in  Buffalo.  He  at  first  admitted  that  he  was 
an  Anarchist  in  sympathy  at  least,  but  denied  strenuously  that 
the  attempt  on  the  life  of  the  President  was  the  result  of  a  pre- 
concerted plot  on  the  part  of  any  Anarchist  society. 

At  times  he  was  defiant  and  again  indifferent.  But  at  no 
time  did  he  betray  the  remotest  sign  of  remorse.  He  declared 


STORY  OF  THE  ASSASSINATION.  201 

the  deed  was  not  premeditated,  but  in  the  same  breath  refused  to 
say  why  he  perpetrated  it.  When  charged  by  District  Attorney 
Penny  with  being  the  instrument  of  an  organized  band  of  con- 
spirators, he  protested  vehemently  that  he  never  even  thought  of 
perpetrating  the  crime  until  this  morning.  After  long  and  per- 
sistent questioning,  it  was  announced  at  police  headquarters  that 
the  prisoner  had  made  a  partial  confession,  which  he  had  signed. 

HIS  BOASTFUL  CONFESSION. 

As  near  as  can  be  learned  the  facts  contained  in  tht- 
confession  are  as  follows : 

The  man's  name  is  Leon  Czolgosz.  He  is  of  decided  Polish 
extraction.  His  home  is  in  Cleveland.  He  is  an  avowed  Anar- 
chist, and  an  ardent  disciple  of  Emma  Goldman,  whose  teachings, 
he  alleges,  are  responsible  for  to-day's  attack  on  the  President. 
He  denies  steadfastly  that  he  is  the  instrument  of  any  body  of 
Anarchists,  or  the  tool  of  any  coterie  of  plotters.  He  declares 
he  did  not  even  have  a  confederate.  His  only  reason  for  the 
deed,  he  declares,  is  that  he  believed  the  present  form  of  govern- 
ment in  the  United  States  was  unjust,  and  he  concluded  the 
most  effective  way  to  remedy  it  was  to  kill  the  President.  These 
conclusions,  he  declares,  he  reached  through  the  teachings  of 
Emma  Goldman. 

He  denies  having  any  confederate,  and  says  he  bought 
the  revolver  with  which  the  act  was  committed  in  Buffalo.  He 
has  seven  brothers  and  sisters  in  Cleveland,  and  the  Cleveland 
directory  has  the  names  of  about  that  number  living  on  Hosmer 
street  and  Ackland  avenue,  which  adjoin.  Some  of  them  are 
butchers  and  others  in  different  trades.  He  shows  no  sign  of 
insanity,  but  is  very  reticent  about  much  of  his  career.  While 
acknowledging  himself  an  Anarchist,  he  does  not  state  to  what 
branch  of  the  organization  he  belongs. 


CHAPTER  X 

Additional  Account  of  the  Assassination— Two  Shots  in  Quick 
Succession— Instant  Lynching  Threatened —Surgeons 
Summoned— Horror  at  the  Dastardly  Deed — The  Nation 
Stunned  by  the  Terrible  News. 

BOTH  shots  took  effect  on  the  President.  One  struck  the 
sternum,  deviated  to  the  right  and  stopped  beneath  the  skin 
at  the  point  directly  below  the  right  nipple.  It  was  a  superficial 
wound  and  the  bullet  was  removed  immediately  after  the  arrival 
of  surgeons.  The  second  bullet  entered  and  passed  through  the 
stomach.  An  operation,  which  was  performed  within  two  hours 
after  the  shooting,  failed  to  find  the  bullet  and  the  incision  was 
sewed  up. 

The  President  was  removed  to  the  home  of  John  G.  Milburn, 
President  of  the  Pan-American  Exposition,  where,  at  midnight,  he 
was  resting  comfortably.  The  physicians  said  they  were  hopeful 
and  that  the  wound  was  not  necessarily  fatal. 

The  man  who  did  the  shooting  gave  his  name  as  Fred 
Nieman,  which  was  an  assumed  name.  He  said  he  was  28  years 
old,  a  blacksmith  by  occupation,  born  in  Detroit  and  had  come  to 
Buffalo  the  preceding  Saturday.  When  asked  why  he  shot  the 
President,  he  said  :  "  I  only  done  my  duty." 

He  was  asked  if  he  was  an  Anarchist,  and  he  said  :  "  Yes, 
I  am." 

The  assassination  had  apparently  been  planned  with  care. 
The  assassin  entered  the  Temple  of  Music  in  the  long  line  of 
those  waiting  to  shake  hands  with  the  President.  Over  his  right 
hand  he  wore  a  white  handkerchief,  as  if  the  hand  were  bandaged. 
Beneath  this  handkerchief  he  had  concealed  a  short-barrelled  32- 
caliber  Derringer  revolver. 

A  little  girl  was  immediately  ahead  of  him  in  the  line  and 
the  President,  after  patting  her  kindly  on  the  head,  turned  with  a 

202 


ADDITIONAL  ACCOUNT  OF   THE   ASSASSINATION.  -J03 

smile  of  welcome  and  extended  his  hand.  The  miscreant  thrust 
out  both  his  hands,  brushed  aside  the  President's  right  hand, 
with  his  left  hand,  lurched  forward  against  the  President,  and 
thrusting  his  right  hand  close  against  his  breast,  pulled  the 
trigger  twice.  The  shots  came  in  such  quick  succession  as  to  be 
almost  simultaneous. 

At  the  first  shot  the  President  quivered  and  clutched  at  his 
chest.  At  the  second  shot  he  doubled  slightly  forward  and  sank 
back.  It  all  happened  in  an  instant.  Quick  as  he  was,  the 
assassin  was  not  quick  enough  to  fire  a  third  shot.  Almost 
before  the  noise  of  the  firing  sounded,  he  was  seized  by  S.  R. 
Ireland,  of  the  United  States  Secret  Service,  in  charge  of  the  New 
York  district,  who  stood  directly  opposite  the  President.  Ireland 
hurled  him  to  the  floor. 

LEAPED  ON  HIM  AS  HE  FELL. 

A  negro,  named  John  Parker,  leaped  upon  him  as  he  fell, 
and  they  rolled  over  on  the  floor.  Soldiers  of  the  United  States 
artillery,  detailed  at  the  reception,  sprang  upon  the  pair,  and 
Exposition  police  and  Secret  Service  detectives  also  rushed  upon 
them.  Detective  Gallagher  clutched  the  assassin's  right  hand, 
tore  from  it  the  handkerchief  and  seized  the  revolver.  The  artil- 
lerymen, seeing  Gallagher  with  the  revolver,  grabbed  him  and 
held  him  powerless,  snatching  the  pistol  from  his  grasp.  Private 
Frank  O'Brien,  of  the  artillery,  got  the  pistol.  Gallagher  held 
to  the  hankerchief. 

Ireland  and  the  negro  held  the  anarchist,  endeavoring,  with 
the  aid  of  Secret  Service  Detective  Foster,  to  shield  him  from  the 
attacks  of  the  infuriated  artillerymen  and  the  policemen's  clubs. 
Meanwhile  the  President,  supported  by  Detective  Geary  and 
President  Milburn,  and  surrounded  by  Secretary  George  B.  Cor- 
telyou  and  a  number  of  Exposition  officials,  was  aided  to  a  chair. 

His  face  was  deathly  white.  He  made  no  outcry,  but  sank 
back  with  one  hand  holding  his  abdomen,  the  other  fumbling  at 
his  breast.  His  eyes  were  open  and  he  was  clearly  conscious  of 
all  that  transpired.  He  looked  up  into  President  Milburn' s  face 


204  ADDITIONAL  ACCOUNT  OF  THE  ASSASSINATION. 

and  gasped  the  name  of  his  secretary,  Cortelyou-  Mr.  Cortelyou 
bent  over  the  President,  who  gasped  brokenly  : 

"  Be  careful  about  my  wife.  Do  not  tell  her,  or,  at  least,  do 
not  exaggerate  it." 

Then,  moved  by  a  paroxysm  of  pain,  he  writhed  to  the  left 
and  his  eyes  fell  upon  the  prostrate  form  of  his  would-be  murderer 
lying  on  the  floor,  bloodstained  and  helpless,  beneath  the  blows 
of  the  guard.  The  President  raised  his  right  hand,  stained  with 
his  own  blood,  and  placed  it  on  the  shoulder  of  his  secretary. 
"Let  no  one  hurt  him,"  he  gasped,  and  sank  back,  as  his  secre- 
tary ordered  the  guard  to  bear  the  culprit  out.  of  the  President's 

sight. 

SEARCHED  BY  THE  POLICE. 

They  carried  him  into  a  side  room  at  the  northeast  corner 
of  the  temple.  There  they  searched  him  and  found  upon  him  a 
letter  relating  to  lodgings.  They  washed  the  blood  from  his  face 
and  asked  him  who  he  was  and  why  he  had  done  the  dreadful 
deed.  He  made  no  answer  at  once,  but  finally  gave  the  name  of 
Nieman.  He  was  of  medium  height,  smooth  shaven,  brown- 
haired,  dressed  as  an  ordinary  mechanic.  He  offered  no  expla- 
nation of  the  bloody  deed,  except  that  he  was  an  anarchist  and 
had  done  his  duty. 

An  ambulance  from  the  Exposition  Emergency  Hospital 
was  summoned  immediately,  and  the  President,  still  conscious, 
sank  upon  the  stretchers  and,  accompanied  by  President  Milburn 
and  Secretary  Cortelyou,  was  hurried  to  the  hospital,  where,  in 
nine  minutes  after  the  shooting,  he  was  awaiting  the  coming  of 
surgeons  who  had  been  summoned  instantly  from  all  parts  of  the 
city  and  by  special  trains  from  near  by.  The  President  was 
entirely  conscious  as  he  lay  on  the  stretcher  in  the  hospital.  He 
conversed  with  his  Secretary  and  Mr.  Milburn. 

"I  am  sorry,"  he  said  "to  have  been  the  cause  of  trouble  to 
this  Exposition  or  inconvenience  to  its  officials  or  the  people." 
The  three  thoughts  in  his  mind  were  :  First,  for  his  wife  ;  second, 
that  the  assassin  should  not  be  harmed :  third,  regret  for  any 
inconvenience  occasioned. 


ADDITIONAL  ACCOUNT  OF  THE  ASSASSINATION.  205 

The  news  of  the  shooting  spread  with  great  rapidity  through- 
out the  Kxposition.  People  were  dumbfounded  and  appalled. 
Women  wept.  Strong  men  asked  where  it  had  happened,  and  when 
they  learned  they  turned  with  blanched  faces  and  clenched  hands 
toward  the  Temple  of  Music.  The  light  of  vengeance  gleamed 
in  their  eyes  as  the  throng  grew  inco  a  multitude. 

Inside  th"  Temnlc,  with  the  President  gone  and  his  assailant 
helpless  in  a  siae  room,  the  proolem  arose  of  how  to  get  the 
assassin  away  from  tiK.  grounds  and  beyond  the  reach  of  the 
people.  Some  advised  hurrying  him  out  by  a  back  way,  but  even 
the  back  ways  were  watched  by  the  throng.  Others  advocated 
attempting  the  dash  through  the  crowd  with  him,  but  this  was 
abandoned  when  suggested.  Guards  were  sent  for  and  more 
details  of  soldiers.  A  carriage  was  called,  a  space  had  been  roped 
off  south  of  the  Temple  with  a  heavy  rope.  The  crowd  was  soon 
dragging  out  the  iron  stanchions  holding  this  rope  and  was  meas- 
uring it  near  a  tall  flag  pole. 

CRIES  OF  "  LYNCH  HIM!" 

"  Lynch  him ! "  cried  a  hundred  voices,  and  a  start  was  made 
for  one  of  the  entrances  of  the  Temple  of  Music.  The  soldiers 
and  police  sprang  outside  and  beat  back  the  orowd.  To  and  fro 
they  fought.  In  the  midst  of  the  confussion  the  assassin,  still 
bleeding  from  his  blows  and  pale  and  silent,  with  his  shirt  torn, 
was  led  out  quickly  by  Captain  James  E.  Valleley,  Chief  of  the 
Exposition  Detectives,  Assistant  Commandant  Robertson  and 
detectives.  They  thrust  him  into  the  closed  carriage.  Three 
detectives  leaped  in  with  him,  and  Captain  Valleley  jumped  upon 
the  driver's  seat,  as  they  lashed  the  horses  into  a  gallop. 

A  roar  of  rage  burst  from  the  crowd,  "  Murderer  !  Assassin  ! 
Lynch  him ! "  yelled  the  crowd,  and  men,  women  and  children 
tore  at  the  guards,  sprang  at  the  horses,  and  clutched  the  whirl- 
ing wheels  of  the  carriage.  The  murderer  huddled  back  in  the 
corner,  concealed  by  the  bodies  of  two  detectives.  "  The  rope  \ 
the  rope  ! "  yelled  the  crowd,  and  they  started  forward,  all  in  one 
great  fight,  the  soldiery  to  save,  the  citizens  to  take,  the  man's 


206  ADDITIONAL   ACCOUNT  OF   THE   ASSASSINATION. 

life.  Soldiers  fought  a  way  clear  at  the  heads  of  the  horses,  and, 
persued  by  infuriated  thousands,  the  carriage  whirled  across  the 
esplanade  and  vanished  through  Lincoln  Parkway  gate,  going 
down  Delaware  Avenue  to  reach  the  police  headquarters. 

"  Where  have  they  taken  him  ?  "  asked  the  crowd  of  the 
soldiers. 

When  the  soldiers  told  them,  hundreds  hurried  to  the  exits 
and  started  towards  the  city  in  search  of  the  life  of  the  assassin. 
They  gathered  at  police  headquarters,  and  as  the  evening  wore 
away,  their  number  grew.  They  waited  as  if  for  a  signal.  Again 
and  again  they  would  repeat  the  question,  "  Is  the  President  still 
alive  ?  "  and  when  the  answer  came  that  there  was  hope,  they 
turned  again  toward  the  building  and  waited  in  silence. 

GROANS  AND  SOBS. 

At  the  emergency  hospital,  while  the  throng  was  crying  for 
the  life  of  the  villain,  the  Exposition  officials  and  the  railroad 
officials  and  the  telegraph  officials  were  searching  the  city  and 
the  adjacent  country  for  the  greatest  surgeons.  They  learned  that 
Dr.  Roswell  Park  was  at  Niagara  Falls  and  General  Agent 
Harry  Parry,  of  the  New  York  Central  Railroad,  ordered  a 
special  train  to  hurry  him  to  the  President's  side.  Dr.  B.  W.  Lee, 
of  St.  Louis,  Dr.  Storer,  of  Chicago,  and  other  medical  men  were 
on  the  grounds,  and  they  joined  the  hospital  staff. 

The  President  was  borne  out  of  the  Temple  of  Music  at 
4.14  o'clock  by  Doctors  Hall,  Ellis  and  Mann,  Jr.,  of  the  hospital, 
in  charge  of  the  ambulance.  The  crowd  fell  back  when  it  saw 
the  figure  of  the  President.  Groans  and  sobs  were  the  only 
sounds  heard.  There  was  no  need  for  the  police  to  ask  the  crowd 
to  move  back.  The  crowd  itself  cleared  a  pathway  along  the 
course  shouting  ahead,  "  Keep  back,  keep  back  ;  make  way,  make 
way." 

Colonel  Chapin,  of  General  Roe's  staff,  with  the  mounted 
escort  which  had  accompained  President  McKinley  in  his  outdoor 
appearance  since  his  arrival  in  Buffalo,  surrounded  the  ambulance, 
and  at  full  gallop  they  whirled  to  the  hospital.  With  them  went 


ADDITIONAL   ACCOUNT  OF  THE  ASSASSINATION.  207 

President  Milburn  and  Secretary  Cortelyou.  Six  doctors  were  at 
the  President's  side  within  thirty  seconds  after  his  arrival.  Miss 
Walters,  the  superintendent  of  the  nurses  of  the  hospital,  immedi- 
ately had  all  made  ready  for  the  task  of  the  surgeons.  Outside 
the  police  established  safety  lines  and  the  crowd  fell  back,  stand- 
ing silent  or  moving  softly. 

The  President  was  stripped  and  placed  where  the  surgeons 
might  see  his  wounds.  Guarding  the  door  was  Detective  Foster, 
of  the  Secret  Service,  and  his  assistants.  In  the  room  with  the 
President  besides  the  surgeons  were  Mr.  Milburn  and  Secretary 
Cortelyou.  In  the  hall  of  the  hospital  were  Chairman  Scatcherd 
and  Secretary  of  Agriculture  Wilson  and  other  prominent  men. 

When  a  face  appeared  for  a  moment  at  the  hospital  door  the 
crowd  trembled  as  if  expecting  to  hear  that  the  President  was 
dead.  When  the  announcement  came,  the  first  announcement, 
that  he  was  shot  twice,  but  that  there  was  hope  of  his  life,  people 
hugged  each  other  and  silently  waved  their  hats  in  the  air  or 
clapped  their  hands  and  murmured  gratefully  with  eyes  closed. 

ONE  BULLET  EXTRACTED. 

At  4.45  o'clock  the  good  word  came  that  one  of  the  bullets  had 
been  extracted,  that  his  wound  was  superficial  and  had  done  no 
serious  harm.  It  was  joyous,  but  a  moment  later  came  the  news 
of  the  second  bullet  and  the  second  wound.  The  surgeons  were 
in  consultation  before  beginning  an  operation.  At  5.07  a  small 
gray-bearded  man  pushed  his  way  through  the  crowd  and  ap- 
proached the  hospital.  He  was  Dr.  Matthew  D.  Mann  and  Mr. 
Scatcherd  met  him  at  the  hospital  door  precisely  one  hour  after 
the  President  had  been  shot.  The  surgeons  were  waiting  for  the 
coming  of  the  President's  physician,  Dr.  P.  M.  Rixey,  and  for  Dr. 
Park. 

At  5.52  o'clock  Secretary  W.  V.  Cox,  of  the  Government 
Board  of  Exposition  Managers,  arrived  with  Dr.  Rixey,  Mrs. 
Rixey  and  Mrs.  Cortelyou.  They  had  come  from  the  Milburn 
home,  where  Mrs.  McKinley  was  sleeping,  all  unconscious  of  the 
calamity  that  had  befallen  the  President.  On  the  space  before  the 


208  ADDITIONAL  ACCOUNT  OF  THE  ASSASSINATION. 

hospital  officers  of  the  army  and  navy,  including  Captain  Hobson, 
and  directors  of  the  Exposition,  bankers  and  diplomats,  stood  in 
silence  awaiting  the  result  of  what  the  surgeons  might  decide. 

The  President  of  the  Cuban  Commission  to  the  Exposition, 
Senor  Edelberto  Farres,  appeared  with  his  full  commission  and 
conveyed  to  those  within  the  hospital  the  announcement  that 
Cuba  sorrowed  with  the  American  people  and  that  whatever  she 
could  do  would  be  a  favor  and  an  honor  to  the  island.  One  by 
one  the  diplomats  reiterated  these  sentiments.  The  Ambassadors 
and  Ministers  stood  eagerly  waiting  for  the  slightest  ray  of  hope. 
They  heard  in  silence  at  6  o'clock  the  announcement  by  Captain 
Valleley  that  he  had  delivered  the  prisoner  safely  at  police  head- 
quarters in  the  custody  of  the  detectives  who  had  seized  him. 

THE  THRONG  KEEP  SILENT. 

The  6  o'clock  whistles  were  blowing  \vhen  Mr.  Scatcherd  and 
Mr.  Hamlin  emerged  from  the  hospital  and  asked  that  the  crowd 
move  still  further  back  and  preserve  quiet.  Their  request  was 
obeyed  instantly,  even  the  small  boys  ceasing  their  shouts.  It 
was  announced  that  the  President  was  about  to  undergo  the 
operation  to  find  the  second  bullet.  Dr.  Mann  with  Drs.  Par- 
menter,  Mynter  and  Rixey  were  to  be  in  charge  of  the  operating 
room  with  Dr.  Mann.  As  already  stated  the  second  bullet  was 
not  found,  and  the  hope  was  that  it  would  become  encycted  and 
result  in  no  harm. 

It  is  impossble  to  describe  the  overwhelming  shock  to  our 
whole  country  by  the  awful  tragedy.  Washington  was  simply 
stunned  by  the  news  that  President  McKinley  had  been  shot.  As 
the  word  spread  through  the  streets  like  wildfire,  men  and  women 
looked  at  each  other  and  said  :  "I  don't  believe  it."  It  was  fully 
thirty  minutes  after  the  first  bulletin  was  placarded  before  the 
awful  truth  was  appreciated. 

At  all  points  where  the  slightest  intelligence  could  be  secured 
from  Buffalo,  people  congregated  in  sad  and  sorrowful  crowds. 
There  were  no  demonstrations  beyond  muttered  horror  and  low 
execrations  of  the  dastardly  deed.  Thousands  gazed  in  silence 


ADDITIONAL  ACCOUNT  OF  THE  ASSASSINATION.  209 

at  the  bulletin  boards,  and  as  succeeding  notices  brought  no 
assurance,  tears  were  wiped  from  their  eyes  and  suppressed  sobs 
were  heard  throughout  the  throng. 

Gradually  the  tone  of  the  despatches  changed  and  a  reaction 
set  in,  until  at  last,  when  a  bulletin  was  displayed  announcing 
that  the  President  would  recover,  a  hearty  cheer  went  up  from 
thousands  of  throats  and  the  tension  was  at  an  end.  Then  the 
people  broke  out  in  noisy  discussion  of  the  terrible  event  and  if 
all  the  threats  and  suggestions  of  extermination  against  the 
Anarchists  could  have  been  put  into  active  operation  not  one  of 
the  breed  would  have  been  alive  in  the  United  States  at  midnight. 

OTHER  ASSASSINATIONS. 

It  was  only  twenty  years,  two  decades,  since  Washington  was 
last  startled  by  the  report  of  the  assassin's  pistol,  and  President 
Garfield  was  shot  down  in  the  Pennsylvania  railroad  depot. 
Thirty-six  years  ago,  only  a  little  more  than  a  generation,  the 
greatest  tragedy  in  the  history  of  the  nation  was  enacted  when 
President  Lincoln  was  murdered.  Washington  felt  these  tragic 
events  in  a  peculiar  manner.  To  the  people  of  this  city  the 
President  of  the  United  States  is  a  living,  tangible  personality,  a 
part  of  the  everyday  life  of  the  city,  and  any  accident  or  disaster 
happening  to  him  touches  every  one  most  closely  and  personally. 

The  news  that  President  McKinley  had  been  shot  struck 
every  one  as  though  a  close  friend  or  member  of  his  family  had 
been  the  victim  of  the  murderous  assault.  The  news  came 
shortly  after  the  closing  of  the  departments  for  the  day,  when 
thousands  of  Government  employees,  men  and  women,  were  on 
the  streets  homeward  bound.  As  the  word  sped  along  that  the 
President  had  been  shot,  ladies  would  rush  toward  any  one  who 
they  thought  could  give  information  and  demand  :  "Is  it  so?  Is 
it  so  ?"  Strong  men  broke  down  and  wept  like  children. 
Nowhere  in  the  United  States  was  President  McKinley  known  so 
well  as  in  Washington,  where  he  first  came  as  a  young  member 
of  Congress  some  twenty-five  years  before. 

It  so  happened  that  not  a  member  of  his  Cabinet  was  present 

14 


210  ADDITIONAL  ACCOUNT  OF  THE  ASSASSINATION. 

in  the  city.  Scattered  all  over  the  country,  enjoying,  as  he  had 
been,  their  annnal  vacation,  his  official  family  received  the  sad 
intelligence  in  widely  separated  localities.  The  assistant  secre- 
taries and  chiefs  of  the  bureaus  in  all  the  departments  were 
speedily  informed  of  the  horrible  event  at  Buffalo. 

Some  of  these  men,  like  Comptroller  of  the  Currency  Dawes, 
had  not  left  their  offices,  and  the  shock  to  them  was  almost 
paralyzing.  They  rushed  to  the  nearest  telegraph  and  news- 
paper offices  in  the  hope  that  the  first  report  was  untrue.  When 
confirmation  of  the  tidings  was  received,  these  men,  many  of  them 
close,  warm  personal  friends  of  the  President,  sank  down  and 
sobbed  like  children. 

FELT  IT  AS  A  PERSONAL  LOSS. 

Each  one  felt  that  the  death  of  the  President  would  be  a 
distinct  personal  blow  to  himself.  They  began  to  rehearse  in 
broken  voices  the  virtues  and  magnificent  character  of  William 
McKinley.  Then  they  would  be  shaken  with  a  wave  of  horror 
that  any  creature  of  human  semblance  and  possessed  of 
thought  and  soul  could  take  the  life  of  such  a  man.  At  the 
War  Department,  General  Gillespie,  who  is  Acting  Secretary 
of  War,  and  Colonel  Ward,  who  is  Acting  Adjutant  General, 
were  in  their  offices  when  the  news  came  from  Buffalo. 
Colonel  Wiser,  commandant  of  Fort  Porter,  at  Buffalo,  wired 
directly  to  the  Department,  giving  official  information  of  the 
shooting  of  the  President  and  the  arrest  of  the  would-be  assassin. 
The  despatch  follows : 

"Adjutant  General,  U.  S.  A.,  Washington,  D.  C. : 

"  President  shot  at  reception  in  Temple  of  Music  about  4  P.  M. 
Corporal  Bertschey  and  detail  of  men  of  my  company  caught 
the  assassin  at  once  and  held  him  down  till  the  Secret  Service  men 
overpowered  him  and  took  the  prisoner  out  of  their  hands,  my 
men  being  unarmed.  Condition  of  President  not  known.  Re- 
volver in  my  possession. 

44  Buffalo,  September  6.  "(Signed)     WISER,  Commanding." 


ADDITIONAL  ACCOUNT  O^  THE  ASSASSINATION.  211 

The  War  Department  officials  immediately  communicated 
with  Secretary  Root  and  Assistant  Secretary  Sanger,  who  were  at 
their  homes  in  New  York,  and  instructions  were  sent  to  Colonel 
Wiser,  at  Fort  Porter,  to  detail  men  to  act  as  a  guard  about  the 
hospital  where  the  President  lay,  and  afterward  about  the  house 
to  which  he  was  removed.  At  the  White  House  there  were  none 
but  the  corps  of  clerks  and  telegraph  operators  present,  but 
inquiries  by  the  hundred  were  received  over  the  telephone  and 
the  telegraph,  asking  for  official  news. 

Colonel  Montgomery,  chief  of  the  operators  at  the  White 
House,  gave  out  the  bulletins  as  rapidly  as  they  were  received, 
but  they  were  only  a  repetition  of  those  coining  in  at  the  news- 
paper offices  and  over  the  regular  telegraph  wires.  Hundreds  of 
anxious  citizens  passed  under  the  White  House  portals,  or  stopped 
to  inquire  the  latest  news,  evidently  attracted  to  the  official  home 
of  the  great  man  whom,  they  believed  to  be  dying  in  Buffalo. 

At  the  Secret  Service  Bureau  the  officials  in  charge  did  not  care 
to  discuss  the  shooting,  except  to  join  in  the  general  expressions 
of  horror  that  an  attempt  should  be  made  upon  the  life  of  the 
President.  Chief  Wilkie,  of  the  bureau,  was  absent  from  the 
city,  and  none  of  his  subordinates  cared  to  discuss  the  precautions 
that  had  been  taken  to  prevent  just  such  a  tragedy  as  had 

occurred. 

OBJECTION  TO  BEING  GUARDED. 

The  President  always  requested  Chief  Wilkie  and  his  assist- 
ants to  refrain  from  making  public  the  arrangements  for  guarding 
him  on  his  trips  and  at  his  receptions.  The  President,  however, 
never  moved  out  of  Washington,  nor  did  he  appear  at  any  public 
function  without  alert  officers  of  the  Secret  Service  Bureau  being 
near  to  him.  In  most  cases  he  did  not  know  the  men  who  were 
detailed  to  guard  him,  and  was  not  consulted  about  the  arrange- 
ments. He  never  had  the  slightest  personal  fear,  and  was  averse 
to  the  detailing  of  men  to  guard  him.  In  a  general  way  he  knew 
that  the  Secret  Service  officers  were  in  attendance,  but  his  move- 
ments were  always  unrestricted  and  made  without  any  thought 
of  possible  danger  to  himself. 


212  ADDITIONAL  ACCOUNT  OF  THE  ASSASSINATION. 

When  he  entered  upon  his  first  term  as  President  he 
abolished  some  of  the  prominent  guard  provisions  about  the 
White  House.  The  number  of  policemen  was  reduced  and  the 
little  sentr}71  box  which  had  been  erected  on  the  front  lawn  during 
President  Cleveland's  second  administration  and  from  which  an 
officer  could  keep  an  eye  on  all  the  approaches  to  the  front  of  the 
Executive  Mansion  was  removed  by  Mr.  McKinley's  direction. 

When  a  member  of  Congress,  Mr.  McKinley  had  formed  the 
habit  of  taking  long  walks  through  the  streets,  and  when  he 
returned  to  Washington  as  President  he  resumed  the  practice  as 
far  as  time  would  permit.  He  walked  frequently  in  the  north- 
western section  of  the  city  and  often  was  seen  taking  his  consti- 
tutional along  Pennsylvania  avenue  and  other  business  streets. 

"  HAVE  NEVER  DONE  ANY  MAN  A  WRONG." 

In  this  he  followed  the  example  of  President  Grant  and  Presi- 
dent Harrison,  both  of  whom  were  familiar  figures  on  the  streets 
of  the  Capital.  If  any  one  suggested  to  President  McKinley 
that  he  should  exercise  precaution  he  invariably  answered  : — 

"I  have  never  done  any  man  a  wrong  and  believe  no  man 
will  ever  do  me  one."  The  idea  that  his  life  might  be  at  the 
mercy  of  a  murderous  crank  never  entered  his  head.  When  it 
was  suggested  to  him  he  merely  laughed  and  said  he  was  not 
afraid  to  trust  the  people. 

Of  late  years  President  McKinley  had  not  walked  so  much, 
but  it  was  principally  because  of  lack  of  time.  During  the  Spanish 
war  he  was  kept  so  closely  to  his  office  that  he  had  to  give  up  the 
long,  pleasant  strolls  he  formerly  had  taken  in  the  residence  por- 
tion of  the  city.  With  his  private  secretary  he  would  repair  to 
the  grounds  in  the  rear  of  the  White  House  and  walk  rapidly 
to  and  fro  for  a  few  moments  to  get  the  physical  exercise  he 
needed.  During  those  troublous  times  the  watchmen  were 
doubled  about  the  White  House  grounds,  but  not  at  the  sugges- 
tion of  the  President.  Secret  Service  men  were  stationed  near 
the  Mansion  or  within  its  doors,  but  without  the  knowledge  or 
consent  ofthe  Chief  Executive. 


ADDITIONAL  ACCOUNT  OF  THE  ASSASSINATION.  213 

Officials  of  the  Secret  Service  Bureau  believe  tliat  the  tragedy 
was  unavoidable.  They  say  it  could  have  occurred  at  any  of  the 
President's  receptions  in  the  White  House.  At  these  public 
functions,  where  the  President  shakes  hands  with  two  or  three 
thousand  people,  any  one  can  pass  scrutiny  who  bears  a  decent 
exterior  and  has  the  appearance  of  a  respectable  citizen.  This 
was  the  apparent  character  of  the  man  who  did  the  shooting  at 
Buffalo. 

If  the  will  of  the  people  of  Washington  could  have  beeu 
executed,  the  anarchist  who  fired  the  murderous  bullets  into  the 
President's  body  would  have  had  short  shrift.  In  the  crowds  that 
surrounded  the  bulletin  boards  were  many  grave  and  dignified 
citizens  who  did  not  hesitate  to  express  a  desire  to  hold  the  rope 
that  would  swing  the  wretch  into  eternity.  With  the  hope  of  the 
President's  recovery,  the  utterly  inadequate  punishment  that 
could  be  administered  to  the  anarchist  impressed  itself  upon  the 
people.  Had  Mr.  McKinley  recovered  from  the  wound,  the  charge 
to  be  brought  against  the  man  who  shot  him  would  have  been 
"assault  with  intent  to  kill." 

MAXIMUM  PUNISHMENT. 

Under  the  laws  of  the  State  of  New  York  this  crime  entails 
a  maximum  punishment  of  only  ten  years  imprisonment.  Had 
the  attempt  been  made  in  the  District  of  Columbia  it  would  have 
been  possible  to  imprison  the  criminal  for  twenty  years.  There 
have  been,  at  various  times,  bills  before  Congress  prescribing 
punishment  for  the  crime  of  attempt  upon  the  life  of  the  Chief 
Executive.  Nothing  was  ever  done,  however,  and  now  every  law- 
maker regrets  that  a  Federal  statute  has  not  been  enacted  provid- 
ing adequate  punishment  for  the  attempted  murder  of  the  Presi- 
dent. As  death  has  resulted  from  the  assassin's  bullet,  the 
punishment  is,  of  course,  death. 

In  the  diplomatic  quarters  of  the  city  the  news  of  the 
assassination  of  President  McKinley  came  as  a  tremendous 
shock.  Nearly  all  of  the  Ambassadors  and  Ministers  were  absent 
from  Washington,  but  the  Charges  d' Affaires  and  secretaries  who 


214  ADDITIONAL  ACCOUNT  OF   THE   ASSASSINATION. 

were  left  on  duty,  expressed  the  keenest  regrets  and  displayed  the 
deepest  sympathy  over  the  tragedy. 

Among  the  representatives  of  all  foreign  powers,  President 
McKinley  was  very  popular.  They  not  only  entertained  the 
respect  which  is  due  a  ruling  magistrate  but  they  had  a  deeper 
and  more  personal  feeling  toward  the  President.  His  exemplary 
life  at  the  Capital,  his  tender  solicitude  for  his  wife  and  his  many 
charming  personal  attributes  placed  him  high  in  the  estimation  of 
all  the  diplomats.  He  was  as  punctilious  in  his  observance  of 
diplomatic  forms  and  ceremony  as  the  most  exacting  could  require 
and  at  the  same  time  exhibited  a  courtesy  that  was  most  charm- 
ing. He  was  able  to  steer  a  judicious  course  in  all  the  petty 
controversies  regarding  public  functions  that  have  arisen  in  the 
diplomatic  corps  where  the  most  intense  jealousy  exists  regarding 
precedence  and  other  rights. 

SYMPATHY  FOR  MRS.  M'KINLEY. 

In  the  tragic  occurrence  the  people  of  Washington  had  their 
sympathies  most  deeply  stirred  when  they  considered  the  terrible 
ordeal  to  which  Mrs.  McKinley  was  subjected.  The  greatest  con- 
cern was  felt  regarding  her,  and  those  who  best  know  her  absolute 
reliance  upon  her  husband  felt  that  the  death  of  the  latter  would 
be  fatal  to  his  wife.  Her  friends  here  were  fearful  that  her  recent 
illness  had  weakened  her  so  that  she  might  not  survive  the  shock. 
Mrs.  McKinley  always  relied  upon  her  husband  with  implicit 
trust.  It  is  known  that  her  life  has  been  saved  in  times  past  by 
the  exercise  of  his  strong  vitality  and  masterful  will. 

The  influence  he  had  over  her  was  almost  hypnotic.  On 
more  than  one  occasion  the  physicians  in  attendance  testified  that 
Mrs.  McKinley  has  been  drawn  from  the  verge  of  the  grave  by 
her  husband's  wonderful,  magnetic  powers.  His  devotion  to  his 
wife  was  beautiful.  Probably  no  other  part  of  his  character 
earned  him  so  completely  the  love  of  the  whole  people.  The 
perfect  sympathy  between  Mr.  and  Mrs.  McKinley  touched  the 
entire  nation  and  was  best  known  in  Washington.  Theii  mar- 
ried life  covered  some  thirty  years,  and  the  union  was  ideal.  It 


ADDITIONAL  ACCOUNT  OF   THE   ASSASSINATION. 


215 


is  recalled  that  a  short  time  before  the  President  and  Mrs.  McKin- 
ley  went  to  Canton,  the  mistress  of  the  White  House  said  that 
she  would  rejoice  most  heartily  when  the  public  life  of  the  Presi- 
dent would  be  ended  and  they  could  go  back  to  their  quiet  home 
in  Ohio. 

"  It  is  a  great  honor  for  my  husband  to  be  President  of  the 
United  States,  and  I  appreciate  it  fully,  but  it  means  much  priva- 
tion and  self-sacrifice  for  us  both,"  was  the  wistful  declaration  of 
the  gentle  invalid. 

When  the  news  of  the  shooting  of  President  McKinley 
reached  Washington,  the  telephone  system  of  the  city  was  simply 
paralyzed  for  a  time  and  so  many  were  the  calls  upon  the  news 
offices  and  upon  the  officials  who  might  be  supposed  to  have 
knowledge  of  the  details  of  the  shooting,  that  the  operators  were 
overwhelmed.  A  reporter  for  the  Associated  Press  carried  to  the 
White  House  the  first  bulletin  announcing  the  shooting  of  the 
President.  The  executive  mansion  was  reached  about  4.24,  and 
at  that  time  all  its  few  inmates  were  in  total  ignorance  of  the 
tragedy  in  which  their  chief  had  just  played  so  serious  a  part. 

ALL  QUIET  AT  THE  WHITE  HOUSE. 

A  policeman  paced  up  and  down  under  the  portico  as  usual, 
but  his  serene  countenance  intimated  that  he  was  totally  ignorant 
of  the  affair.  Inside  there  were  few  to  receive  the  news,  the  most 
prominent  personage  there  being  a  telegraph  operator,  Secretary 
Pruden,  who  was  in  charge  of  the  White  House,  having  left  his 
office  for  the  day,  as  had  his  subordinates. 

The  force  at  the  White  House  after  the  President's  departure 
was  in  constant  communication  with  him,  and  while  he  conducted 
most  of  the  business  of  his  office  at  his  home  in  Canton,  the 
majority  of  the  papers  with  which  he  had  to  deal  were  prepared 
in  Washington  and  forwarded  through  the  White  House  clerical 
force.  All  reports  received  from  him  by  officials  were  cheerful 
and  high  spirited. 

General  Gillespie,  Acting  Secretary  of  War,  got  into  com- 
munication with  Secretary  Root  and  Assistant  Secretary  Sanger, 


216  ADDITIONAL  ACCOUNT  OF  THE  ASSASSINATION. 

and  as  a  result  of  the  telephone  talk,  he  proceeded  to  use  some  of 
the  forces  at  his  disposal.  He  telegraphed  au  order  to  have  an 
officer,  a  physician  and  a  squad  of  men  proceed  immediately  to 
the  hospital  where  the  President  was  lying  to  act  as  a  guard. 
Steps  were  next  taken  to  provide  for  the  future  of  the  Executive 
Branch  of  the  Government.  It  was  realized  that  even  under  the 
most  favorable  conditions  the  President's  injuries  were  of  such  a 
character  as  to  make  it  almost  certain  that  he  could  not  undertake 
for  a  long  time  to  discharge  the  duties  of  Chief  Executive,  even  in 
the  most  formal  way. 

Every  member  of  the  Cabinet  able  to  travel  was  expected 
to  speed  at  once  to  Buffalo,  and  there  a  Cabinet  council  would  be 
held  to  decide  upon  the  course  to  be  followed  by  the  Executive 
Branch.  Vice  President  Roosevelt  was  understood  to  be  in 

Vermont. 

LAW  OF  SUCCESSION. 

The  Vice  President,  by  the  Constitution  of  the  United  States, 
becomes  President,  if  at  any  time  the  President  is  removed  by 
death  or  disability  to  perform  the  duties  of  his  office.  This  pro- 
vision is  contained  in  Paragraph  VI,  Section,  I,  Article  II,  in  the 
following  words : 

"  VI — in  case  of  the  removal  of  the  President  from  office,  or 
of  his  death,  resignation,  or  inability  to  discharge  the  powers  and 
duties  of  the  said  office,  the  same  shall  devolve  on  the  Vice 
President,"  etc. 

At  7  o'clock  Colonel  Montgomery,  the  chief  operator  at  the 
White  House,  received  a  message  from  a  confidential  but  reliable 
source  in  Buffalo  saying  that  the  informant  had  learned  on  good 
authority  that  the  President's  wounds  were  not  necessarily  fatal 
and  that  it  was  believed  that  he  would  live.  General  Gillespie 
telegraphed  Vice  President  Roosevelt  at  Burlington,  Vt,  and  he 
started  in  haste  for  Buffalo. 

Chinese  Minister  Wu,  when  seen,  was  a  picture  of  distress. 
He  realized  keenly  the  tremendous  indebtedness  of  China  to 
President  McKinley's  kindly  impulses  in  her  great  trials  in 
the  past  year,  and  was  shocked  at  the  great  calamity  that  had 


ADDITIONAL  ACCOUNT  OF   THE  ASSASSINATION.  217 

{ 

befallen  him.  He  said  that  lie  could  not  conceive  of  any  sort  of 
motive  for  such  an  inexcusable  deed,  and  he  was  severe  in  his 
denunciation  of  anarchists.  He  asked  why  they  were  permitted 
to  hatch  such  plots  as  this  in  a  Republic  where  the  people  could 
readily  change  their  President  if  they  were  in  the  slightest  degree 
dissatisfied  with  his  official  conduct  or  his  private  personality.  In 
conclusion,  almost  with  tears,  he  expressed  the  hope  that  the 
President  would  speedily  recover  from  his  terrible  injury. 

It  was  somewhat  gratifying  to  the  officials  at  Washington 
that  the  very  first  expression  of  official  sympathy  should  come 
from  the  Island  of  Cuba,  in  the  shape  of  the  following  telegram  : 

"September   6,    1901.      Received   at   War  Department  7.45  P.M. 

Havana.    Adjutant  General.    Washington. 

"  Mayor  and  City  Council  of  Havana  have  called,  expressing 
sorrow  and  solicitude  for  the  President  and  desire  that  his  family 
be  advised  of  these  expressions. 

"  (Signed)         SCOTT,  Adjutant  General.'' 

MR.  ROOSEVELT  GREATLY  AFFECTED. 

Vice-President  Roosevelt  received  the  news  by  telephone  first 
at  Isle  La  Motte.  He  turned  pale  and  trembled  violently.  His 
first  words  were  : — "  I  am  so  inexpressibly  shocked,  horrified  and 
grieved  that  I  cannot  find  words  to  express  my  feelings."  At  a 
second  bulletin  he  said  : — "  Like  all  other  people  and  like  the 
whole  civilized  world,  you  will  be  overjoyed  to  hear  the  good  news 
that  the  President  will  recover." 

Upon  his  arrival  at  Burlington,  Mr.  Roosevelt  was  met  by  a 
crowd  of  messenger  boys  and  reporters.  He  eagerly  read  the 
messages  relating  to  the  President's  condition,  but  made  no  re- 
marks. To  the  newspaper  men  he  said  :  "  I  am  so  shocked  and 
grieved  that  I  cannot  make  a  statement.  There  is  nothing  for  me 
to  sa}-;  I  shall  go  to-night  to  Senator  Proctor's  home  and  from 
there  direct  to  Buffalo." 

When  asked  if  several  newspaper  men  might  accompany  him, 
he  refused,  saying  it  would  be  a  desecration  under  the  circum- 
stances. Mr.  Roosevelt  boarded  the  special  car  "Grand  Isle," 


218  ADDITIONAL  ACCOUNT   OF   THE   ASSASSINATION. 

owned  by  President  Clement,  of  the  Rutland  road,  and  accom- 
panied by  President  Clement  and  Senator  Proctor  left  at  8.35  for 
Proctor.  From  there  arrangements  were  made  for  a  special  train 
to  Buffalo,  and  he  arrived  the  next  morning. 

When  the  news  of  the  President's  injuries  was  announced 
by  Senator  Proctor  at  Isle  La  Motte,  where  the  annual  meeting  of 
the  Fish  and  Game  League  of  Vermont  was  being  held,  a  moan 
went  up  from  the  crowd  and  the  reception  which  was  in  progress 
was  stopped. 

"TOO  HORRIBLE  TO  CONTEMPLATE." 

Upon  being  informed  at  the  Union  Club,  of  Cleveland,  of  the 
assassination  of  the  President,  Senator  Hanna  was  astounded  and 
refused  to  believe  it.  A  little  later,  after  reading  a  telegram, 
he  said,  with  tears  in  his  eyes  : — 

"  I  have  just  received  a  message  from  the  Associated  Press 
and  I  am  forced  to  believe  that  the  rumor  is  true.  I  cannot  say  any- 
thing about  it.  It  is  too  horrible  to  even  contemplate.  To  think 
that  such  a  thing  could  happen  to  so  splendid  a  man  as  McKin- 
ley,  and  at  this  time  and  upon  such  an  occasion.  It  is  horrible, 
awful.  McKinley  never  had  any  fear  of  danger  from  that  source. 
Of  course,  I  never  talked  to  him  upon  such  a  subject,  but  I  knew 
he  never  even  dreamed  of  anything  like  this  happening.  I  can't 
be  interviewed  upon  this,  it  is  too  awful." 

The  Senator  made  immediate  preparations  to  leave  for  Buf- 
falo. Shortly  after  4  o'clock  he  left  the  Union  Club  and  boarded 
a  street  car  for  his  office,  on  Superior  street.  When  he  reached 
the  street  he  was  stopped  and  surrounded  by  excited  citizens,  who 
wanted  to  know  if  the  rumors  were  true  that  the  President  had 
been  shot  at  Buffalo.  "  Yes,  I  am  afraid  it  is  too  true,"  replied 
the  Senator,  as  he  pushed  his  way  through  the  crowd.  On  the 
car  the  same  questions  were  asked  by  every  one.  The  Senator 
answered  all  questions  politely,  but  refused  to  enter  into  conver- 
sation with  any  one.  Most  of  the  time  he  sat  with  bowed  head, 
deep  in  sorrow. 

To  a  reporter  who  accompanied  him  he   turned   suddenly  in 


ADDITIONAL  ACCOUNT   OF  THE   ASSASSINATION1.  219 

the  car  and  exclaimed  :  "  What  is  this  great  country  coming 
to  when  such  men  as  Lincoln,  Garfield  and  McKinley  fall  by  the 
bullet  of  assassins  ?  Oh,  it  is  fearful,  dreadful,  horrible !  I  shall 
hurry  to  the  bedside  of  the  President  as  rapidly  as  the  train  will 
take  me.  I  only  hope  that  he  is  not  seriously  injured,  but  I  am 
afraid  that  my  hopes  will  be  in  vain.  I  do  want  to  reach  the  President 
before  he  dies,  if  he  is  going  to  die.  Nobody  can  be  safe  from 
the  work  of  an  insane  man,  it  seems.  It  is  terrible."  As  the 
Senator  boarded  a  car  tears  were  streaming  down  his  face. 

United  States  Senator  Cullom,  who  was  in  Chicago  on  the 
day  of  the  shooting,  was  greatly  affected  when  he  heard  the  news. 

DENOUNCED  BY  THE  ILLINOIS  SENATOR. 

"  I  can  hardly  believe  the  announcement,"  he  said,  after  a 
time.  "  That  was  a  dastardly  attack,  and  the  man  who  committed 
the  act  should  have  been  punished  right  there.  It  is  the  most 
horrible  crime  imaginable.  The  nation  could  hardly  afford  to 
lose  President  McKinley,  and  it  would  be  awful  to  see  a  man  of 
so  many  admirable  qualities  cut  down  thus  at  the  height  of  his 
career.  He  is  a  great  man  and  a  great  President.  He  is  nearer 
the  hearts  of  the  great  body  of  the  people  than  any  other  ruler 
since  Lincoln. 

"  Abraham  Lincoln,  James  A.  Garfield  and  William  McKinley 
were  the  three  Presidents  most  thoroughly  in  sympathy,  appar- 
ently, with  the  great  body  of  the  common  people  of  the  country, 
that  we  have  had  since  the  beginning  of  our  Constitutional  Gov- 
ernment. Mr.  Lincoln  was  assassinated  in  the  early  part  of  his 
second  term  ;  Mr.  Garfield  during  the  first  few  months  of  his  first 
term,  and  an  attempt  has  been  made  to  assassinate  President 
McKinley  in  the  early  part  of  his  second  term.  It  seems  strange 
to  my  mind  that  such  a  fate  should  befall  such  men — men  who 
were  all  generous  to  a  fault,  and  who  were  faithfully  performing 
the  great  duties  of  their  high  office. 

"  No  man  was  of  a  more  kindly  nature  than  President 
McKinley.  His  heart  beat  in  unison  with  the  great  body  of  the 
people  of  the  country,  and  of  the  world.  His  sole  purpose  was 


220  ADDITIONAL  ACCOUNT   OF   THE  ASSASSINATION. 

to  do  his  duty,  to  take  care  that  the  laws  should  be  faithfully 
executed,  and  that  the  country  should  go  on  in  its  career  of 
growth  and  prosperity,  and  yet  he  seems  to  have  shared  the  fate 
of  those  great  men  who  have  gone  before  him. 

"I  sincerely  hope  he  may  recover  to  carry  out  his  purpose 
in  the  interest  of  the  United  States  Government,  and  of  the 
people,  to  the  end  of  his  official  term,  and  be  allowed  to  retire,  as 
he  has  unqualifiedly  expressed  his  purpose  to  do,  when  his  term 
shall  expire.  There  can  be  no  question  that  he  has  made  one  of 
the  greatest  Presidents  of  the  United  States.  His  name  will  be 
linked  closely  with  that  of  Washington  and  Lincoln,  and  deserv- 
edly so.  Even  on  yesterday  he  delivered  an  address  to  the  people 
at  the  Exposition  which  is  full  of  wisdom,  and  showed  that  his 
whole  heart  and  life  were  absorbed  by  a  desire  to  do  what  was 
best  for  his  own  country,  not  forgetting  the  other  nations  of  the 
world.  It  will  be  a  great  thing  for  the  United  States,  and  for  the 
world,  if  he  shall  be  spared.  If  he  shall  be  taken  away,  it  is  my 
sincere  hope  and  prayer  that  the  policies  of  President  McKinley 
during  his  term  shall  be  continued.'* 


CHAPTER  XL 

Mrs.  McKinley  Hears  the  Appalling  News— The  Nation 
Bowed  with  Grief— Europe  Aghast  at  the  Diabolical 
Crime. 

JWl  RS.  McKINLHY  received  the  news  of  the  assassination  with 
4.*' *  the  utmost  courage.  Because  of  the  fear  that  the  an- 
nouncement might  injuriously  affect  her  health,  it  was  deemed 
desirable  to  postpone  as  long  as  possible  the  breaking  of  the  sad 
news.  When  informed,  however,  of  the  attacks  on  her  husband, 
she  exhibited  remarkable  fortitude. 

After  the  President  was  cared  for  at  the  Exposition  grounds, 
Director  General  W.  I.  Buchanan  started  for  the  Milburn  home 
to  forestall  any  information  that  might  reach  there  by  telephone 
or  otherwise.  Luckily,  he  was  first  to  arrive  with  the  infor- 
mation. The  Niagara  Falls  trip  had  tired  Mrs.  McKinley,  and 
on  returning  to  the  Milburn  home  she  took  leave  of  her  nieces, 
the  Misses  Barber  and  Miss  Duncan,  as  well  as  their  hostess, 
Mrs.  Milburn,  and  went  to  her  room  to  rest. 

Mr.  Buchanan  broke  the  news  as  gently  as  possible  to  the 
nieces,  and  consulted  with  them  and  Mrs.  Milburn  as  to  the  best 
course  to  pursue  in  informing  Mrs.  McKinley.  It  was  finally 
decided  that  on  awakening,  or  shortly  thereafter,  Mr.  Buchanan 
should  tell  her,  if  in  the  meantime  her  physician,  Dr.  Rixey, 
had  not  arrived.  Mrs.  McKinley  awoke  from  her  sleep  at  about 
5.30  o'clock.  She  was  feeling  splendidly,  she  said,  and  at  once 
took  up  her  crocheting,  which  is  one  of  her  favorite  diversions. 

Immediately  on  Mr.  Buchanan's  arrival  at  the  Milburn  home 
he  had  telephonic  communication  therewith  cut  off,  for  already 
there  had  been  several  calls,  and  he  decided  on  this  as  the  wisest 
course  to  pursue,  lest  Mrs.  McKinley,  hearing  the  continued 
ringing  of  the  'phone  bell  might  inquire  what  it  meant.  While 

the  light  of  day  remained,  Mrs.   McKinley  continued  with  her 

221 


222  MRS.    McKINLEY  HEARS  THE   APPALLING  NEWS. 

crocheting,  keeping  to  her  room.  When  it  became  dusk,  and  the 
President  had  not  arrived,  she  began  to  feel  anxious  concerning 
him. 

"I  wonder  why  he  does  not  come,"  she  asked  one  of  her 
nieces. 

There  was  no  clock  in  Mrs.  McKinley's  room,  and  when  it 
was  7  o'clock  she  had  no  idea  it  was  so  late,  and  this  is  when  she 
began  to  feel  anxious  concerning  her  husband,  for  he  was  due  to 
return  to  Mr.  Milburn's  house  at  6  o'clock.  At  7  o'clock,  Dr. 
Rixey  arrived  at  the  Milburn  home.  He  had  been  driven  hur- 
riedly down  Delaware  avenue  in  an  open  carriage.  As  he  came 
up,  Mr.  Buchanan  was  out  on  the  lawn. 

"  Do  you  know,"  said  Mr.  Buchanan,  "I  had  a  sort  of  premo- 
nition of  this  ?  Since  early  morning  I  had  been  extremely  nervous 
and  feared  that  something  might  go  wrong.  Our  trip  to  the  Falls 
was  uneventful,  but  what  an  awful  sad  ending  to  our  day." 

NEWS  BROKEN  TO  HER  GENTLY. 

At  7.20  o'clock  Dr.  Rixey  came  out  of  the  house  accompanied 
by  Colonel  Webb  Hayes,  a  son  of  ex-President  Hayes,  who  was  a 
friend  of  Mr.  McKinley.  They  entered  a  carriage  and  returned  to 
the  Exposition  Hospital.  After  Dr.  Rixey  had  gone,  Director 
General  Buchanan  said  that  the  doctor  had  broken  the  news  in  a 
most  gentle  manner  to  Mrs.  McKinley.  He  said  she  stood  it 
bravely,  though  considerably  affected. 

If  it  was  possible  to  bring  him  to  her  she  wanted  it  done. 
Dr.  Rixey  assured  her  that  the  President  could  be  brought  with 
safety  from  the  Exposition  grounds,  and  when  he  left  Mr.  Mil- 
burn's  it  was  to  complete  all  arrangements  for  the  removal  of  the 
President.  A  big  force  of  regular  patrolmen  were  assigned  to 
the  Milburn  home. 

Canton,  the  President's  home,  was  bowed  down  with  grief. 
The  news  of  the  attempt  j upon  the  life  of  President  McKinley 
and  the  fact  that  his  life  still  hung  in  the  balance  carried  sorrow 
into  every  house  in  the  city.  After  the  first  bulletin  announcing 
the  firing  of  the  shot  everything  else  was  abandoned  in  efforts  to 


MRS.   McKINLEY   HEARS  THE  APPALLING   NEWS.  223 

get  additional  particulars  and  in  watching  the  bulletin  board  and 
the  extra  editions  of  the  newspapers  for  information  on  the  con- 
dition of  the  distinguished  Cantonian.  Groups  of  men  standing 
on  the  street,  the  tears  streaming  down  their  cheeks  as  they  dis- 
cussed the  awful  tragedy,  were  a  common  sight  about  the  business 
section  of  the  city. 

At  first  the  news  was  not  believed.  But  the  confirmation 
came  all  too  soon.  The  Stark  County  fair,  which  the  President 
attended  Tuesday,  was  just  closing  when  the  first  news  came. 
The  race  track,  the  side  shows  and  the  various  exhibits  were 
deserted  in  one  grand  rush  for  the  car  line  to  reach  the  city, 
where  the  news  might  be  received  more  fully  and  more 

promptly. 

THEY  HURRIED  TO  THE  HOUSE. 

Then  with  the  hope  of  receiving  earlier  and  more  direct  news 
many  people  hurried  to  the  McKinley  house,  which  was  in  the 
charge  of  eight  servants  and  attaches,  who  were  there  during  the 
summer  vacation.  No  information  was  received  at  the  house 
until  late  in  the  evening.  Dr.  T.  H.  Phillips,  who  is  regarded  as 
the  President's  physician,  although  lie  had  little  use  for  the 
services  of  a  physician,  regarded  the  President  as  a  man  of  most 
remarkable  constitution  and  able  to  resist  what  would  prove  fatal 
to  one  of  the  average  strength.  If  prime  condition  of  health  and 
a  naturally  strong  constitution  could  overcome  the  assaults  of  the 
assassin,  the  Canton  friends  of  the  President  felt  that  he  would 
yet  be  spared. 

Mrs.  M.  C.  Barber,  the  sister  of  Mrs.  McKinley,  was  the  only 
near  relative  of  the  family  in  the  city.  She  bore  up  heroically 
under  the  terrible  news,  but  was  well  nigh  prostrated,  aside  from 
the  condition  of  the  President ;  she  suffered  from  a  realization  of 
what  the  affair  must  mean  to  her  sister. 

Every  time  President  McKinley  was  at  Canton  since  his  first 
inauguration  he  was  accompanied  by  George  Foster,  formerly  of 
Upper  Sandusky,  of  the  Secret  Service,  who  guarded  him  as  closely 
as  the  President  would  allow.  This  did  not  amount  to  shadowing 
ail  of  his  movements,  because  this  was  distasteful  to  the  Presi- 


224  MRS.  McKINLEY  HEARS  THE  APPALLING  NEWS. 

dent.  He  also  watched  the  McKinley  premises  more  or  less 
closely,  especially  at  night,  and  occasionally  had  the  local  police 
keep  a  little  closer  to  the  house  than  their  regular  beats  provided. 
He  also  kept  in  close  touch  with  the  Secret  Service  headquarters 
and  investigated  every  rumor  reported  to  him  of  which  there  were 
many. 

The  only  semblance  of  a  scare  that  occurred  during  the  two 
months'  sojourn  of  the  President  to  Canton  was  about  three  weeks 
before.  Foster,  during  his  usual  rounds,  saw  a  man  passing  the 
McKinley  home  two  or  three  times  in  a  manner  that  indicated 
more  than  idle  curiosity.  He  watched  the  man's  movements  and 
saw  him  pass  through  a  private  driveway  between  the  McKinley 
home  and  the  Bockius  residence  adi  oining.  His  hat  was  drawn 
over  his  face  and  there  were  other  suspicious  actions. 

THE  STRANGER  SHADOWED. 

Foster  shadowed  the  stranger  and  he  quickened  his  pace 
toward  the  center  of  town.  Two  blocks  below  the  McKinley 
home  the  stranger  boarded  a  trolley  car.  Foster  got  on  the  same 
car.  They  both  went  through  the  public  square  and  were  trans- 
ferred east.  Four  blocks  further  the  line  turns  at  right  angles. 
The  stranger  jumped  off  the  car  at  this  point  and  Foster  got  off 
as  the  corner  was  rounded.  The  secret  service  man  went  through 
the  corridor  of  the  Barnett  House  to  the  street  on  which  the 
stranger  had  left  the  ca::  but  foun:)  n^  mrther  trace  of  him. 

All  the  saloons  IT  the  vicinity  were  visited  without  results, 
as  were  also  the  railwa^  stations  and  yards  half  a  block  away. 
The  supposition  then  was  tha*  ^h.e  fellow  was  either  irresponsible 
or  a  possible  burglar  at  one  or  ttc  other  of  the  two  houses.  The 
Bockius  home  belongs  to  a  wealthy  family  and  in  the  past  has 
been  visited  by  burglars,  who  were  well  rewarded.  Joseph  Saxton, 
Mrs.  McKinley' s  uncle,  on  receiving  the  news,  said  :  "I  was 
terribly  shocked  to  hear  the  news.  I  am  in  hopes  that  he  will 
recover,  and  I  trust  in  God  and  believe  He  will  take  care  of  him." 

Rev.  Dr.  C.  E.  Manchester,  pastor  of  the  President's  church, 
said  :  "I  have  strong  hopes  of  the  President's  recovery,  as  he  is 


MRS.    McKINLEY  HEARS  THE  APPALLING  NEWS.  225 

a  man  of  such  clean  life  and  good  habits.  He  never  intimated  to 
me  that  he  had  any  fear  of  snch  a  thing,  and  I  don't  believe  that 
he  knew  what  personal  fear  was.  He  is  a  Christian  in  the  true 
sense  of  the  word  and  is  a  man  who  has  strong  faith  in  an  over- 
ruling Providence." 

The  news  of  the  assassination  of  the  President  did  not  reach 
Cardinal  Gibbons  until  nearly  7  o'clock  in  the  evening,  his  Emi- 
nence having  been  out  driving.  Soon  after  he  heard  it  a  reporter 
called  upon  him  in  his  study.  His  Eminence,  as  the  visitor 
entered,  raised  his  -hands  in  mute  appeal,  and  in  a  voice  which 
shook  with  emotion  exclaimed  :  "I  hope  from  the  bottom  of  my 
heart,  sir,  that  you  bring  me  some  better  news  than  that  which  I 
have  heard." 

TRIBUTE  FROM  CARDINAL  GIBBONS. 

Upon  being  informed  that  the  condition  of  the  President  was 
still  very  grave,  the  Cardinal  sank  into  a  chair  and  said  : 

"  It  is  sad,  indeed,  that  an  insane  fanatic  can  have  it  in  his 
power  to  endanger  the  life  of  the  head  of  a  great  nation  like  this, 
and  a  man  possessing  the  many  virtues  of  President  McKinley. 
The  man  who  did  it  must  be  a  mad  man.  The  President  has  no 
personal  enemies  and  no  one  but  a  madman  would  have  committed 
such  a  deed.  If,  however,  he  has  a  spark  of  reason  left,  and  it 
can  be  shown  that  he  is  responsible,  no  punishment  would  be  too 
great  for  him." 

After  a  moment's  hesitation  the  Cardinal  resumed  :  "  I  am 
filled  with  sadness  beyond  expression  at  receiving  this  news.  I 
not  only  honor  President  McKinley  as  the  head  of  a  great  nation, 
but  I  have  the  privilege  of  regarding  him  as  a  friend  and  am 
obligated  to  him  for  many  favors.  I  repeat  that  this  awful 
calamity  must  have  been  the  work  of  an  insane  man,  for,  while 
the  President  had  hosts  of  political  opponents,  it  seems  incredible 
that  he  could  have  a  personal  enemy. 

"  But  few  Presidents  who  have  occupied  the  chair  have  been 
better  equipped  for  the  Presidency  than  he.  He  was  trained  for 
the  place  by  having  served  his  country  in  minor  capacities,  as 

15 


226  MRS-    McKINLEY   HEARS    THE  APPALLING  NEWS. 

Congressman,  Governor,  and  the  effect  of  this  training  has  been 
repeatedly  shown  during  his  Presidential  career. 

"  His  characteristic  virtues  are  patience  and  forbearance.  He 
is  always  ready  to  receive  any  one  and  to  give  careful  attention 
to  any  demand  upon  him,  whatever  might  be  their  character. 
The  wound  which  has  been  inflicted  upon  him  is  not  only  a 
national  calamity  but  comes  as  a  personal  affliction  to  every  house 
in  the  land.  Every  son  and  every  daughter  in  the  United  States 
should  feel  it  as  they  would  feel  a  blow  struck  at  the  head  of  his 
or  her  family. 

"  I  have  always  heard  him  most  admired  for  his  domestic 
virtues  and  for  his  tender  affection  and  solicitude  for  his  wife.  No 
more  beautiful  example  of  domestic  virtue  and  felicity  has  prob- 
ably ever  been  seen  in  this  or  any  other  country  than  that  of 
President  and  Mrs.  McKinley. 

UNSHAKEN  ON  FIRM  FOUNDATION. 

"  It  is  my  earnest  prayer  that  the  Lord  may  spare  him  to  fill 
out  the  term  he  has  begun  so  well.  But  whatever  be  the  outcome 
of  this  awful  crime,  of  course  the  nation  will  remain  unshaken 
upon  the  firm  foundation  our  forefathers  builded  for  it. 

"  Perhaps  the  best  tribute  to  the  stability  of  our  institutions 
is  the  fact  that,  whilst  the  blow  at  the  President  arouses  universal 
sorrow  and  indignation,  it  does  not  in  the  least  shake  our  faith 
in  the  correctness  of  the  principles  of  our  government,  and  will 
not  retard  for  an  instant  its  machinery  or  create  more  than  a 
passing  ripple  upon  the  waters  over  which  is  gliding  our  noble 
Ship  of  State. 

'You  may  announce,  if  you  want,"  said  his  Eminence,  in 
conclusion,  "that  I  will  order  immediately  that  prayers  shall  be 
held  in  every  church  in  my  diocese  on  Sunday  next.  If  the 
President  still  lives,  and  God  grant  that  he  may,  they  will  be  for 
his  recovery." 

The  news  of  the  assassination  of  President  McKinley  was 
received  in  London  shortly  before  10  o'clock  at  night,  and  quickly 
spread  through  the  clubs  and  hotels  of  the  West  End.  Details 


AIRS.    McKINLEY  HEARS  THE  APPALLING   NEWS.  227 

were  meager,  but  it  was  understood  that  the  wounds  were  serious 
and  that  the  President's  life  was  in  danger.  All  who  heard  the 
sad  intelligence  were  outspoken  in  their  expressions  of  horror  at 
the  occurrence  and  sympathy  with  Mrs.  McKinley. 

Everybody  hoped  that  the  President  would  recover  sufficiently 
again  to  direct  the  affairs  of  state.  Only  a  short  time  before  the 
English  people  were  sympathizing  with  President  McKinley 
because  of  his  wife's  serious  illness,  and  now  they  tendered  con- 
dolence to  her  because  of  the  terrible  deed  at  Buffalo. 

The  first  reports  were  discredited  ;  then,  with  the  confirma- 
tion and  general  dissemination  of  the  news,  arose  a  far-reaching 
feeling  of  sorrow  and  indignation,  which,  wherever  Americans 
were  gathered,  almost  gained  the  proportions  of  a  panic,  accom- 
panied by  feverish  anxiety  for  further  details.  The  thousands  of 
Americans  in  London  were  mostly  at  the  theatres  when  the  news 
arrived,  and  returning  to  their  hotels  found  anxious  groups  of 
Englishmen  and  Americans  discussing,  what,  without  distinction 
of  race,  was  regarded  as  a  national  calamity. 

ANXIOUS    INQUIRIES. 

London's  telephones,  usually  silent  at  night,  tingled  with 
impatient  inquiries  addressed  to  newspapers  and  American  cor- 
respondents in  the  hope  of  securing  a  denial  of  the  report.  The 
announcement  of  the  assassination  was  received  too  late  for  extra 
editions  of  the  papers  to  announce  the  news  to  the  mass  of  the 
English  people.  A  correspondent  conveyed  the  intelligence  to 
Mr.  J.  W.  Mackay,  Colonel  Ochiltree,  Messrs.  C.  L.  Pullman  and 
J.  W.  Gates  and  many  others,  all  of  whom  desired  to  express 
their  unspeakable  indignation  at  the  cowardly  act,  and  deepest 
sympathy  with  President  McKinley. 

In  no  part  of  the  country  was  the  death  of  President 
McKinley  more  sincerely  mourned  than  in  our  Southern  States. 
In  a  letter  to  the  "Manufacturer's  Record,"  of  Baltimore,  United 
States  Senator  J.  D.  McLaurin,  of  South  Carolina,  told  of  an 
interview  which  he  had  with  President  McKinley,  one  day  during 
the  early  days  of  the  Spanish  War. 


228  MRS.  McKINLEY  HEARS  THE  APPALLING   NEWS. 

"  The  President,"  says  Senator  McLaurin,  "spoke  beauti- 
fully and  tender!}/  of  the  Southern  people,  and  of  how  he 
intended  to  use  the  power  and  influence  of  his  great  office  to 
reunite  our  country.  I  can  recall  the  words,  but  who  can  paint 
the  earnestness  and  eloquence  as,  raising  one  hand  on  high,  he 
said  :  '  Senator,  by  the  help  of  God  I  propose  to  be  the  President 
of  the  whole  country,  the  South  as  much  as  the  North,  and  before 
the  end  of  my  term  the  South  will  understand  this.' 

"  No  wonder,  as  a  true  Southern  man,  I  loved  aud  trusted 
President  McKinley.  I  stood  by  him  in  the  Senate  and  else- 
where, and  I  thank  God  that  I  did.  Patriotic  in  purpose  and  pure 
in  heart,  his  noble  soul  is  now  with  Him  whom  the  hate  of  man 
nailed  to  the  cross.  Like  Lincoln,  who  saved  the  country, 
McKinley,  who  reunited  it,  lies  a  martyr  to  envy  and  hate." 

HISTORY'S   ROLL   OF  ASSASSINATIONS. 

Two  Presidents  of  the  United  States  and  many  rulers  of 
other  nations  were  assassinated  during  the  nineteenth  century. 

Abraham  Lincoln  was  the  first  President  of  the  United  States 
to  meet  death  at  the  hands  of  an  assassin.  As  every  schoolboy 
knows,  he  was  shot  by  the  insane  actor,  Wilkes  Booth,  in  Ford's 
Theatre,  Washington,  on  the  evening  of  April  14,  1865.  The 
President  died  the  next  day,  and  Booth,  though  he  escaped  at  the 
time,  was  shot  in  a  barn  a  few  days  later,  and  his  body  was  buried 
at  sea  by  attaches  of  the  Secret  Service. 

James  A.  Garfield,  the  second  martyr  President,  received  his 
fatal  wound  July  2,  1881.  His  assassin  was  Charles  Guiteau, 
who  came  upon  his  victim  as  he  was  standing  in  the  Baltimore 
and  Potomac  railway  station  in  the  National  Capital.  The  Presi- 
dent was  on  his  way  at  the  time  to  attend  the  commencement 
exercises  of  Williams  College,  and  accompanying  him  was  his 
Secretary  of  State,  James  G.  Blaine.  As  the  President  was  walking 
through  the  station,  arm  in  arm  with  his  secretary,  Guiteau,  draw- 
ing a  heavy  revolver  from  his  pocket,  fired  at  the  President. 
Once  more  Guiteau  fired,  and  the  President  dropped  to  the 


HISTORY'S    ROLL  OF  ASSASSINATIONS.  220 

floor,  covered  with  blood.  Guiteau  fled,  but  was  caught  before 
he  left  the  station.  Meanwhile  the  President  neither  moved 
nor  spoke. 

An  ambulance  took  him  to  the  White  House,  where  the  best 
surgeons  of  Washington  were  hastily  summoned.  Contrary  to 
the  expectations  of  the  surgeons,  the  President  rallied  from  his 
torpor,  and,  after  several  days,  it  was  determined  to  remove  him 
to  the  seashore.  He  was  taken  to  Elberon,  N.  J.,  where,  for  a 
time,  the  sea  breezes  seemed  to  assist  nature  in  restoring  his 
health.  For  eighty  days  he  lingered,  and  then,  on  Monday,  Sep- 
tember 10,  1881,  death  relieved  him  of  his  sufferings. 

ATTEMPT  ON  LIFE  OF  PRESIDENT  JACKSON. 

Few  persons  remember  the  attempt  of  Richard  Lawrence  to 
shoot  President  Jackson. 

It  occurred  on  January  30,  1835.  On  that  day  the  two 
Houses  of  Congress  convened  for  the  obsequies  of  W.  R.  Davis,  a 
Representative  from  South  Carolina,  then  recently  deceased. 
President  Jackson  and  the  heads  of  departments  were  in  attend- 
ance. After  a  discourse  by  the  Chaplain  of  the  House,  a  funeral 
procession  was  formed,  in  which  the  President  walked  arm  in  arm 
with  the  Secretary  of  the  Treasury,  Levi  Woodbury. 

The  procession  left  the  hall  of  the  House  of  Representatives 
and  was  passing  through  the  rotunda,  on  the  way  to  the  eastern 
portico,  when  Lawrence,  as  he  perceived  the  President  approach, 
stepped  forward  from  the  crowd,  advanced  to  within  a  few  feet  of 
him,  drew  a  pistol,  aimed  it  at  the  President,  and  pulled  the 
trigger.  The  cap  missed  fire.  Secretary  Woodbury  and  others 
sprang  to  arrest  him  ;  he,  however,  had  time  to  draw  another 
pistol,  but  this  second  attempt  to  shoot  was  equally  unsuccessful. 
He  was  thrown  down,  disarmed  and  secured. 

In  taking  aim  he  stood  so  near  the  President  that  the  latter 
instinctively  started  forward  to  strike  the  pistol  aside  with  his 
cane  ;  so  that,  had  not  the  caps  failed,  there  is  every  probability 
that  a  dangerous,  probably  a  fatal  wound  would  have  been  given. 

The  trial  of  Lawrence  was  postponed  until  April,  apparently 


230 


HISTORY'S   ROLL   OF   ASSASSINATIONS. 


to  allow  time  for  searching  his  antecedents  and  investigating  his 
mental  condition.  Both  the  evidence  and  Lawrence's  demeanor 
in  the  court  room  satisfied  the  public  at  the  time  that  the  shoot- 
ing was  the  act  of  a  lunatic.  He  had  for  some  time  believed 
himself  to  be  King  of  the  United  States  and  Jackson  to  be  an 
intruder  and  usurper.  In  the  court  room  his  behavior  was  so 
wild  and  disorderly  that  his  counsel  begged  that  he  might  be 
removed  and  the  trial  proceeded  without  him. 

When  the  District  Attorney  commenced  speaking,  Lawrence 
started  up,  wildly  exclaiming :  "  What  means  this  personal 
indignity  ?  Is  it  decreed  that  I  am  to  be  brought  here  ?  And  for 
what  ?  I  desire  to  know  if  I,  who  claim  the  crown  of  the  United 
States,  likewise  the  crown  of  Great  Britain,  and  who  am  superior 
to  this  court,  am  to  be  treated  thus  ?  "  And  the  proceedings 
were  frequently  broken  by  like  interruptions.  As  the  jury  agreed 
with  the  medical  men  that  he  was  an  irresponsible  monomanic, 
he  was  committed  to  an  asylum. 

KING  HUMBERT  OF  ITALY. 

The  last  ruler  to  be  assassinated  in  the  nineteenth  century 
was  King  Humbert  of  Italy.  Bresci,  an  anarchist  from  Paterson, 
N.  J.,  chosen  expressly  for  the  purpose,  shot  the  King  at  Monza, 
a  small  town  near  Milan,  on  July  29,  1900.  Death  came  almost 
instantly.  Bresci  was  imprisoned  in  an  underground  cell,  whose 
width  compelled  him  to  stand  continually  day  and  night.  Only  a 
few  weeks  ago  the  newspapers  recorded  the  fact  that  the  assassin, 
worn  out  by  the  harsh  treatment  accorded  him  by  his  keepers, 
had  committed  suicide. 

Elizabeth,  Empress  of  Austro-Hungary,  was  stabbed  to  death 
by  Lucheni,  an  anarchist,  September  10,  1898,  while  she  was  re- 
cuperating in  the  Swiss  city  of  Geneva.  At  the  time  of  the  stab- 
bing the  Empress  was  out  walking.  She  had  taken  no  precaution 
against  violence.  She  was  removed  to  her  hotel,  where  she  died 
two  hours  later. 

It  was  on  June  24,  1894,  that  President  Carnot,  of  France, 
was  stabbed  by  an  Italian  anarchist  named  Santo,  who  managed 


HISTORY'S    ROLL   OF  ASSASSINATIONS.  231 

to  get  close  to  him,  on  the  pretext  of  presenting  a  petition,  while 
he  was  driving  through  the  streets  of  Lyons.  Santo  had  drawn 
lots  at  a  meeting  of  anarchists  to  kill  Carnot.  Following  Carnot's 
death  anti-Italian  riots  ensued  throughout  the  length  and  breadth 
of  France. 

Alexander  II  of  Russia,  the  liberator  of  the  serfs,  was  killed 
by  an  explosion  of  a  bomb  thrown  by  a  man  who  himself  was 
killed  by  the  same  explosive.  The  assassination  took  place  at 
St.  Petersburg,  March  13,  1881,  as  the  Czar  was  returning  from  a 
review  of  his  favorite  regiment.  Only  a  few  hours  before  he  had 
been  warned  that  the  Nihilists  were  awaiting  their  opportunity  to 

take  his  life. 

DEATH  OF  AN  INSANE  CZAR. 

The  insane  Paul  I,  of  Russia,  was  killed  by  Count  Pablen, 
on  March  24,  1801.  Paul's  own  son,  Alexander  I,  who  was  near, 
was  fully  cleared  from  complicity  in  the  assassination. 

Michael  IV,  of  Servia,  was  assassinated  June  20,  1868. 

Nasr-Ed-Din,  Shah  of  Persia,  was  assassinated  May  i,  1896, 
as  he  was  entering  the  shrine  near  his  palace.  The  man  who 
shot  him  was  disguised  as  a  woman,  and  is  believed  to  have  been 
a  tool  of  a  band  of  conspirators.  He  was  caught  and  suffered  the 
most  horrible  death  th^t  Oriental  ingenuity  could  devise. 

Juan  Idiarte  Borda,  President  of  Uruguay,  was  killed  August 
27,  1897,  at  Montevideo  by  Avelino  Arredondo,  an  officer  in  the 
Uruguyan  army. 

Sultan  Abdul  Aziz,  of  Turkey,  was  killed  mysteriously  June 
4,  1876.  It  was  suspected  that  members  of  the  royal  family  had 
a  hand  in  his  assassination. 

Sultan  Selini,  of  Turkey,  was  stabbed  in  1808.  President 
D'Istria,  of  Greece,  died  from  a  saber  wound  in  1831  ;  Duke  of 
Parma,  Italy,  was  killed  in  1854.  The  President  of  Hayti  was 
stabbed  in  1859.  President  Baita,  of  Peru,  was  shot  in  1872. 
President  Moreno,  of  Ecuador,  was  shot  in  1872,  and  his  successor, 
President  Guthrie,  suffered  the  same  fate  in  1873.  President 
Barrios,  Guatemala,  was  shot  in  1885.  The  Queen  of  Greece  was 
poisoned. 


232 


HISTORY'S   ROLL   OF   ASSASSINATIONS. 


Among  other  famous  assassinations  was  that  of  Gustavus 
III,  of  Sweden.  He  was  shot  at  a  masquerade  ball  by  Count 
Aukerstiono,  March  16,  1792. 

Balthazar  Geraid  was  the  assassin  of  William  the  Silent,  of 
Orange,  at  Delft,  July  10,  1584. 

Henry  IV,  of  France  was  killed  by  Ravaillar,  May  14, 1610. 
The  murderer  was  burned,  tern  by  not  pincers,  hot  lead  was 
poured  into  his  wounds  and  finally  he  was  pulled  asunder  by 
horses. 

A  monk,  Jacques  Clement,  was  the  assassin  of  Henry  III,  of 
France.  The  date  was  July  31,  1589. 

While  escaping  from  the  battlefield  of  Sanchielburn 
James  III,  of  Scotland,  was  killed  by  the  rebel  Borthwick,  June 

ii,  1488. 

MURDER  IN  SCOTLAND. 

James  I,  of  Scotland,  was  murdered  at  Perth  by  conspirators, 
headed  by  Sir  Robert  Graham  and  Earl  Athol,  February  21, 1437. 
The  assassins  wer^  nai^sd 

John  the  Pea.**  ss,  01  Burgundy,  while  conferring  with  the 
French  Dauphin  on  thu  bridge  of  Montereau,  was  assassinated  by 
Orleanists,  the  Daupnin  s  attendants,  September  10,  1419. 

Darius  III,  of  Persia,  was  killed  330  B.  C.  by  Bessus,  who 
was  torn  to  pieces. 

Philip  II,  of  Macedon,  father  of  Alexander  the  Great,  was 
assassinated  by  Pausanias  at  Aegae  during  the  celebration  of 
games  at  his  daughter's  wedding,  336  B.  C. 

Julius  Caesar  was  assassinated  44  B.  C.  by  Brutus  at  the  foot 
of  the  statute  of  Pornpey,  the  base  of  which  was  bathed  in  Caesar's 
blood. 

Attempts  at  assassination  of  rulers  have  been  legion.  Some 
of  those  from  the  time  of  George  III  down  follow  : 

George  III  of  England,  mad  attempt  by  Margaret  Nicholson, 
August  2,  1786,  again,  by  James  Hatfield,  May  15,  1800. 

Napoleon  I,  attempt  by  an  infernal  machine,  December  24, 
1800. 

George  IV.  (when  regent),  attempt,  January  26,  1817. 


233 

Louis  Philippe  of  France,  many  attempts,  by  Fieschi,  July 
28,  1835  ;  by  Allbaud,  June  25,  1836 ;  by  Meimier,  December  27, 
1836;  by  Darinos,  October  15,  1840 ;  by  Lecomte,  April  14,  1846 ; 
by  Henry,  July,  29,  1846. 

Frederick  William  IV  of  Prussia,  attempt,  by  Sofelage,  May 
22,  1850. 

Francis  Joseph  of  Austria,   attempt,   by   Libenyi,   February 

18,  1853- 

Isabella  II  of  Spain,  attempts  by  La  Riva,  May  4,  1847  >  by 
Merino,  February  2,  1852  ;  by  Raymond  Fuentes,  May  28,  1856. 

Napoleon  III,  attempts  by  Pianori,  April  28,  1855  ;  by 
Bellernarre,  September  8,  1855  ;  by  Orisini  and  others  (France), 
January  14,  1858. 

Amedeus,  Duke  of  Aosta,  when  King  of  Spain,  attempt,  July 

19,  1872. 

Prince  Bismarck,  attempt,  by  Blind,  May  7,  1866  ;  by  Kull- 
man,  July  13,  1874. 

Abdul  Aziz,  Sultan  of  Turkey,  June  4,  1876. 

William  I  of  Prussia  and  Germany,  attempts,  by  Oscar 
Becker,  July  14,  1861  ;  by  Hodel,  May  n,  1878  ;  by  Dr.  Nobel- 
ing,  June  2,  1878. 

Humbert  I,  King  of  Italy,  attempt,  by  John  Passaranti, 
March  17,  1888. 

Lord  Lytton,  Viceroy  of  India,  attempt,  by  Busa,  December 
12,  1878. 

Alfonso  XII  of  Spain,  attempts,  by  J.  O.  Moncast,  October 
25,  1878 ;  by  Francisco  Otero  Gonzales,  December  30,  1879. 

Loris  Melikoff,  Russian  general,  attempt,  March  4,  1880. 

September  6,  1901.  The  assassination  that  shocked  the 
world  more  than  any  other  crime,  was  that  of  President  McKin- 
ley,  at  the  Pan-American  Exposition,  Buffalo.  He  died  on  Sep- 
tember 14.  The  assassin  was  convicted  of  murder  on  Septem- 
ber 24,  and  sentenced  on  the  26th  to  be  electrocuted  at  Auburn 
Penitentiary  during  the  week  beginning  October  28. 


CHAPTER  XIL 

Strong  Hopes  at  First  of  the  President's  Recovery — Days  of 
Anxious  Suspense— Some  Account  of  the  Assassin — Ar- 
rest of  Notorious  Anarchists. 

FOR  six  days  after  the  President  was  shot  the  bulletins  an- 
nounced that  his  condition  was  favorable  and  there  was  a 
prospect  of  his  recovery.  This  intelligence  was  everywhere 
received  with  great  rejoicing,  and  relieved  the  agony  of  suspense. 
On  September  8th  the  following  statement  was  made  by  a  promi- 
nent surgeon,  who  was  among  those  in  attendance  upon  the 
President : 

"  In  regard  to  the  present  condition  of  President  McKinley, 
I  would  call  your  attention  to  the  fact  that  it  is  but  little  over 
forty-eight  hours  since  the  shot  was  fired.  It  is  as  yet  too  soon 
to  speak  confidently  of  the  outcome.  At  the  present  hour,  how- 
ever, and  giving  due  consideration  to  the  severity  of  the  injury 
and  the  importance  and  extent  of  the  operation  required,  the 
patient's  condition  is  entirely  satisfactory. 

"  It  is  gratifying  to  find  that  up  to  the  present  time  none  of 
the  numerous  signs  of  inflammation  or  septic  conditions  have 
appeared.  The  temperature  is  not  too  high.  It  is  lower  to-night 
than  it  was  this  morning.  The  pulse  is  better ;  the  facial  expres- 
sion is  entirely  satisfactory ;  the  mind  is  clear ;  there  is  no  pain 
or  tenderness,  no  nausea,  and  no  distension  of  the  abdomen.  At 
this  stage  I  consider  that  this  is  a  satisfactory  condition,  and  yet 
it  is  much  too  soon  to  feel  real  confidence  that  unfavorable  condi- 
tions have  been  entirely  escaped — entirely  too  soon  to  make  any 
such  statements.  For  the  present  we  are  entirely  satisfied,  and  if 
these  conditions  continue  for  the  next  two  days  we  shall  feel 
further  confidence. 

" I  may  add  to  that  this  truthful  tribute:    If  the  President 
234 


HOPES   OF   THE   PRESIDENT'S    RECOVERY. 


23* 


lives,  he  will  owe  his  life  to  the  promptness  and  surgical  skill 
which  his  professional  attendants  showed." 

A  correspondent  who  learned  all  the  particulars  of  the  Presi- 
dent's condition  made  the  following  comments  : 

"  President  McKinley  maintains  a  good  measure  of  his  strength, 
and  those  who  watch  at  his  bedside  hold  higher  hope  for  his  ulti- 
mate recovery.  The  shock  from  the  wounds  inflicted  upon  him 
by  Leon  Czolgosz  seems  to  have  been  less  than  was  anticipated, 
and  that  is  regarded  as  highly  favorable  to  him.  It  is  admitted 
that  the  crisis  in  his  condition  has  not  yet  come,  and  that  there  is 
the  gravest  danger  until  it  has  been  safely  passed.  All  the  bulletins 
sent  from  the  chamber  of  the  wounded  President  indicated  a  spirit 
of  hopefulness. 

FEAR  OF  BLOOD  POISONING. 

"The  greatest  fear  of  the  President's  physicians  is  that 
septic  poisoning  will  set  in,  and  it  is  for  the  first  symptoms  of 
this  that  they  are  now  watching.  One  bullet  lodged  in  the  mus- 
cles of  the  back,  and  the  physicians  have  decided  that,  for  the 
present,  it  is  of  secondary  importance,  The  bullet  took  a  hori- 
zontal course,  but  neither  the  intestines  nor  the  kidneys  were 
injured.  Of  this  the  physicians  are  confident.  If  inflammation 
should  appear  in  the  neighborhood  of  the  place  where  the  bullet 
is  believed  to  have  lodged,  the  Roentgen  ray  will  be  used  to 
locate  the  bullet,  and  the  doctors  do  not  think  there  will  be  difficulty 
in  extracting  it. 

"  Two  physicians  and  two  trained  nurses  are  with  the  Presi- 
dent constantly.  All  others  were  excluded  from  the  sick  chamber 
this  morning,  as  it  was  found  tha'  th^  distinguished  patient  could 
not  be  restrained  from  spe?jdng  to  those  who  entered  the  room. 
Quiet  and  absolute  ireedom  from  the  least  excitement  are  con- 
sidered extreme1  y  essential. 

"  Mrs.  McKinley  bears  up  bravely  in  her  sorrow  and  the 
physicians  in  attendance  feel  but  little  concern  on  her  account. 
At  the  request  of  the  President,  whose  first  thoughts  were  of  her, 
she  was  told  that  he  was  not  seriously  wounded,  and  when  she 


23G  HOPES  OF  THE   PRESIDENT'S  RECOVERY. 

first  saw  him  lie  had  rallied  from  the  operation,  and  was  suffering" 
little  pain.  She  was  content  to  leave  his  side  during  the  night 
and  rest  herself. 

"  With  common  impulse  to  spare  the  sufferer  the  annoyance 
that  noise  would  inflict,  the  public  keeps  off  the  street  in  the 
neighborhood  of  the  Milburn  residence.  The  police  have  no 
trouble  to  keep  the  people  at  proper  distance.  A  detachment  of 
the  Fourteenth  United  States  Infantry  was  ordered  to  the  house 
irom  Fort  Porter.  A  picket  line  was  established  in  front  of  the 
house  but  the  sentries  found  no  work  to  do.  Ropes  were  stretched 
across  Delaware  Avenue  in  order  to  keep  teams  off  that  thor- 
oughfare. 

THE  MILBURN   RESIDENCE. 

"  The  Milburn  residence  is  a  large  two  and  a  half  story  brick 
building.  Graceful  ivy  climbs  over  the  front  of  it,  and  on  the 
large  lawn  which  surrounds  it  are  a  number  of  pretty  shade  trees. 
The  President  lies  in  the  rear  room  on  the  second  floor.  The 
room  was  chosen  because  it  insured  the  most  complete  quiet. 
Telegraph  wires  have  been  led  to  the  stable  in  the  rear  of  the 
Milburn  residence  and  offices  opened  there.  The  bulletins  telling 
of  the  condition  of  the  President  are  sent  there  by  Dr.  Rixey  and 
at  once  transmitted  to  the  world. 

"  Czolgosz  insists  that  he  alone  planned  the  crime  which  may 
rob  the  United  States  of  its  Chief  Executive,  but  that  statement 
is  not  accepted  as  true.  There  is  a  belief  tnac  he  was  fided  by 
others  in  a  deliberate  plot,  and  that  confederates  accompanied  him 
to  Buffalo  and  assisted  in  its  execution." 

This  buoyant  iiope  that  the  President's  ife  would  be  spared 
was  encouraged  from  day  to  day  The  Governess  of  some  of  the 
States  appointed  a  day  of  thanksgiving  and  rejoicing  and  a  hope- 
ful feeling  pervaded  "-he  entire  country. 

"We  trust  in  God,  and  believe  Mr.  McKinley  is  going  to 
recover  speedily.  I  know  that  he  has  the  best  medical  attendance 
that  can  he  obtained,  and  I  am  perfectly  satisfied  that  these 
doctors  are  handling  the  case  splendidly.  It  is  a  great  pleasure 
to  know  the  deep  interest  and  sympathy  felt  by  the  American. 


HOPES  OF  THE   PRESIDENTS   RECOVERY.  237 

people.  The  case  is  progressing  so  favorably  that  we  are  very 
happy." 

Mrs.  McKinley,  the  wife  of  the  President,  said  this  at  the 
Milburn  house,  just  after  the  three  o'clock  bulletin  of  the  physi- 
cians was  issued.  This  bulletin  was  the  strongest  and  most 
favorable  that  had  been  put  forward  by  the  physicians  since  the 
President  was  shot.  The  seventy-two  hours,  which  was  the  limit 
they  had  fixed  for  the  development  of  peritonitis,  had  almost  ex- 
pired, and  their  confidence  had  wonderfully  encouraged  the  wife 
of  the  President. 

Mrs.  McKinley  was  bearing  up  wonderfully  under  the  ordeal. 
Stories  were  published  that  it  had  been  deemed  unwise  to  inform 
her  of  the  shooting  of  her  husband  ;  that  she  did  not  know  that 
an  attempt  had  been  made  on  his  life,  and  that  she  had  been  told 
he  had  been  injured  by  a  fall.  This  preposterous  fiction,  carry- 
ing with  it  the  inference  that  it  was  not  safe  to  acquaint  Mrs. 
McKinley  with  the  real  danger  that  had  menaced  her  husband, 
aroused  intense  indignation,  and  was  demolished  by  the  most 
sweeping  denials. 

BORE  UP  WITH  GREAT  COMPOSURE. 

As  a  matter  of  fact,  Mrs.  McKinley  was  informed  of  the  at- 
tempt on  her  husband's  life  by  Czolgosz  within  a  few  hours  of 
the  firing  of  the  shots.  She  received  the  news  with  calmness, 
and  bore  up  with  heroic  composure,  being  much  with  her  hus- 
band and  having  the  utmost  faith  in  his  recuperative  powers. 
These  reports  were  regarded  in  Buffalo,  not  only  by  the  members 
of  the  Cabinet,  but  by  the  public  generally,  as  heartless  and  mis- 
chievous inventions. 

President  McKinley  improved  so  rapidly  that  on  Monday, 
September  9th,  it  was  confidently  believed  that  the  danger  line 
had  been  passed.  The  President  asked  for  the  daily  papers  and 
for  food,  which  were,  of  course,  denied  him.  He  jokingly  re- 
marked that  it  was  hard  enough  to  be  shot,  without  being  starved 
to  death.  For  the  first  time  since  the  shooting  he  spoke  of  his 
assailant,  and  said;  "He  must  have  been  crazy."  When  told 


238 


HOPES   OF   THE   PRESIDENTS   RECOVERY. 


that  the  man  was  an  Anarchist,  he  said  that  he  hoped  he  would 
get  fair  treatment. 

On  the  same  day,  Senator  M.  A.  Hanna  wore  a  look  of 
supreme  contentment  when  he  left  the  house  where  the  President 
was  lying,  bravely  battling  with  death.  He  felt  absolutely 
certain  that  the  President's  recovery  was  only  a  matter  of  a  few 
weeks,  and  he  dictated  this  statement  to  a  correspondent : 

"  You  may  say,  for  the  information  of  the  American  people, 
that  all  the  news  we  have  is  good  news.  We  know  that  the 
greatest  danger  is  already  past.  We  hope  that  in  a  few  hours 
the  President's  physicians  will  announce  that  his  case  is  beyond 
the  possibility  of  a  relapse. 

"Just  say  that  for  me,  and  I  think  it  will  give  more  satisfac- 
tion than  if  I  talked  a  column." 

"  You  have  no  fears  that  there  may  be.  a  change  for  the 
worse? "  I  asked. 

SENATOR  HANNA'S  DREAM. 

"That  reminds  me  of  a  dream  I  had  last  night.  You  know 
dreams  go  by  contraries.  Well,  sir,  in  this  dream  I  was  up  at  the 
Milburn  house  waiting  to  hear  how  the  President  was  getting 
along,  and  everybody  was  feeling  very  good.  We  thought  the 
danger  was  all  past.  I  was  sitting  there  talking  with  General 
Brooke  and  Mr.  Cortelyou,  and  we  were  felicitating  ourselves  on 
how  well  the  physicians  had  been  carrying  the  case. 

u  Suddenly,  in  my  dream,  Dr.  McBurney  entered  the  room 
through  the  door  leading  from  the  sick  room  with  a  look  of  the 
utmost  horror  and  distress  on  his  face.  I  rushed  up  to  him,  and, 
putting  a  hand  on  either  shoulder,  said  :  '  What  is  it,  doctor  ? 
What  is  it  ?  Let  us  know  the  worst.' ' 

"  Dr.  McBurney  replied  :  *  My  dear  Senator,  it  is  absolutely 
the  worst  that  could  happen.  The  President  has  had  a  tremen- 
dous change  for  the  worse.  His  temperature  is  now  440  degrees.5 
I  fell  back  in  my  chair  in  utter  collapse,  and  then  I  awoke.  But, 
do  you  know,  I  couldn't  rest  easy  until  I  saw  the  early  bulletins 
this  monr'-ig." 


HOPES  OF  THE   PRESIDENT'S   RECOVERY.  239 

"  I  am  overjoyed  to  know  that  everything  is  going  all  right." 
In  these  words,  Vice-President  Roosevelt  signified  his  pleas- 
ure at  the  encouraging  reports  from  the  sick  chamber  of  President 
McKinley.  His  manner  indicated  that  they  were  heartfelt.  We 
know  now  that  everything  was  not  "  going  right,"  and  the  confi- 
dence of  Mr.  Roosevelt  was  ill  founded. 

The  Vice-President  occupied  a  position  of  extreme  delicacy 
after  the  President  was  shot  and  uncertainty  remained  as  to  the 
result  of  his  wounds.  He  felt  the  blow  so  keenly,  however,  that 
no  room,  was  left  in  his  mind  for  the  thought  that  his  enemie» 
were  watching  every  word  and  action  in  the  hope  of  finding  some- 
thing which  might  be  misconstrued  to  his  disadvantage.  His 
first  impulse  was  to  come  immediately  to  Buffalo,  and  he  did  so 
without  delay. 

MESSAGES  OF  SYMPATHY. 

A  newspaper  correspondent  furnishes  the  following  : 

"President  McKinley  was  told  that  from  all  parts  of  the 
world  messages  of  sympathy  had  arrived.  He  was  also  told  that 
the  American  public  had  shown  great  grief  over  his  misfortune, 
and  had  demonstrated  that  he  holds  a  strong  grip  upon  the  affec- 
tions of  his  fellow  countrymen.  He  was  deeply  touched,  and  said 
that  he  felt  himself  to  be  too  highly  honored.  To  Dr.  Rixey  he 
said  that  he  hoped  to  recover  to  show  that  he  appreciated  all  that 
had  been  done  for  him. 

"  Nothing  has  caused  so  deep  distress  to  the  friends  of  Presi- 
dent McKinley  as  the  publication  of  the  cruel  canard  that  Mrs. 
McKinley  has  not  yet  been  informed  of  the  attack  made  upon 
her  husband.  This  publication  carries  with  it  the  impres- 
sion that  the  President's  wife  is  in  no  mental  condition  to  realize 
what  is  going  on  about  her,  as  it  has  been  known  that  she  had 
seen  her  husband  each  day  since  his  injury,  and  that  she  has 
known  of  the  crowds  that  gather  in  front  of  the  house  eager  to 
learn  of  his  condition. 

"The  truth  is  that  Mrs.  McKinley  was  told  a  few  hours  after 
the  shooting,  and  more,  she  has  been  kept  in  no  ignorance  <?f  his 


24f  HOPES   OF  THE   PRESIDENTS   RECOVERY. 

condition  since.  She  is  stronger  to-day  than  she  has  been  before 
in  years,  and  the  physicians  are  all  of  the  opinion  that  the  tragedy 
has  aronsed  her  from  that  lethargy  which  was  perhaps  the  prime 
cause  of  her  illness. 

u  The  strangest  feature  of  the  progress  that  has  been  made 
toward  recovery  by  President  McKinley  is  that  he  has  at  no  time 
shown  any  symptoms  of  relapse.  After  the  operation  there  was 
no  sinking  spell  which  usually  results  from  such  a  shock,  and 
from  the  moment  that  his  wounds  were  dressed  his  progress  has 
been  steady  and  satisfactory.  Bach  hour  has  shown  an  improve- 
ment over  the  previous  one. 

"  Dr.  McBurney  said  that  in  all  his  experience  as  a  physician 
he  has  never  known  another  patient  who  exhibited  so  great  a 
tendency  to  respond  to  medical  treatment  as  does  President  Mc- 
Kinley. *  It  is  marvelous,'  said  he,  '  and  it  is  worthy  of  the  study 
of  men  who  are  capable  of  understanding  such  matters.' 

HER  VISITS  QUIETED  HIM. 

"  Mrs.  McKinley  was  permitted  to  have  more  than  the  hour 
with  her  husband.  This  was  granted  for  the  reason  that  the 
physicians  have  found  that  her  visits,  if  anything,  had  a  bene- 
ficial effect  upon  the  President.  He  seems  to  rest  more  easily 
when  she  is  with  him  than  at  any  other  time.  She  obeys  the 
injunction  not  to  permit  her  husband  to  talk,  and  it  seems  to 
give  the  President  confidence  in  himself  to  see  that  his  wife  is  so 
greatly  improved  in  health. 

"  She  went  to  his  rooms  a  little  before  ten  o'clock  this  morn- 
ing, and  remained  there  until  after  eleven.  After  she  left  him  the 
President  asked  how  long  it  would  be  before  he  would  be  per- 
mitted to  partake  of  food.  Dr.  Rixey  told  him  that  the  wounds 
in  his  stomach  would  not  heal  inside  of  a  week  or  ten  days,  and, 
during  that  time  it  would  be  impossible  for  him  to  take  any  solid 
substance.  This  information  was  far  from  pleasant,  but  the 
President  made  no  complaint. 

;<  There  seems  to  be  no  abatement  in  the  interest  displayed 
in  President  McKinley's  condition,  and  there  is  certainly  no 


HOPES  OF  THE   PRESIDENTS  RECOVERY.  241 

abatement  in  the  sympathy  of  the  public.  It  is  a  paradoxical 
condition  of  affairs  that  the  attempted  assassination  of  President 
McKinley  has  drawn  to  Buffalo  more  people  than  have  been  in 
the  city  at  any  other  time  since  the  Pan-American  Exposition 
opened,  and  yet,  the  effect  has  been  to  cut  the  attendance  to  the 
fair  almost  fifty  per  cent.  Visitors  seem  to  be  here  for  the 
purpose  of  extending  sympathy  to  the  President  and  to  learn  of 
his  condition.  It  is  the  opinion  of  the  management  of  the  Expo- 
sition that  the  attendance  will  mend  in  a  few  days. 

<{  At  the  hour  when  Buffalonians  most  generally  retire,  the 
announcement  was  made  last  night  that  President  McKinley 
was  constantly  improving  and  that  his  condition  was  entirely 
satisfactory.  Yet,  in  spite  of  all  this,  the  crowds  refused  to  be 
satisfied,  and  all  night  long  they  lingered  in  the  streets  near  the 
Milburn  house.  They  pushed  in  as  close  as  the  guard  would 
permit  them,  and  at  the  half  hour  intervals  insisted  upon  sending 
messengers  into  the  newspaper  tent  to  obtain  the  latest  in- 
formation. 

THOUSANDS  GATHERED  OUTSIDE. 

"  After  each  bulletin  a  few  would  retire,  but  others  were  ready 
to  take  their  places,  and  at  sunrise  this  morning  more  than  two 
thousand  persons  were  within  two  blocks  of  the  house  in  which 
the  stricken  President  lies.  It  is  so  cold  to-night  that  this  will 
hardly  be  repeated.  But  so  persistent  are  the  demands  for  the 
latest  information  that  arrangments  have  been  made  with  the 
telephone  company  to  give  the  bulletins  to  all  who  may  request 
them.  This  service  is  continuous,  and  four  telephone  stations 
have  been  set  apart  for  the  dissemination  of  news  from  the 
Milburn  house. 

"  Another  indication  of  confidence  in  the  President's  recovery 
was  the  announcement  made  by  Mr.  Buchanan,  of  the  Pan- 
American  Exposition,  that  there  would  be  another  President's 
day  before  the  exhibition  closed.  It  is  proposed  to  make  the 
occasion  a  festival  of  rejoicing  over  the  President's  recovery.  Mr. 
Buchanan  did  not  make  the  announcement  until  he  had  received 
rather  positive  assurances  that  the  President  would  recover." 

16 


242  HOPES  OF  THE   PRESIDENTS   RECOVERY. 

From  these  statements  it  will  be  seen  how  confident  were 
those  nearest  the  President  that  he  would  recover,  and  his  valua- 
ble life  would  be  spared  to  his  countrymen  and  the  world.  Alas, 
for  human  hope  I 

"  I  look  upon  the  President's  recovery  as  assured,"  said 
Lyman  J.  Gage,  Secretary  of  the  Treasury,  at  the  Buffalo  Club, 
before  his  departure  for  Washington.  "  Dr.  McBurney  told  me 
to-day  that  the  wounds  in  the  stomach  were  healing  nicely,  and 
that  there  was  no  longer  any  thing  to  fear  from  them. 

**  There  has  not  been  the  slightest  symptom  of  peritonitis, 
and,  in  fact,  there  have  been  absolutely  no  bad  symptoms  in  the 
case.  Dr.  McBurney  told  me  that  one  or  two  things  might 
happen  to  the  bullet,  which  has  not  yet  been  removed.  It  would 
either  remain  lodged  in  the  muscles  of  the  back,  or  else  it  had 
fallen  down  into  some  one  of  the  abdominal  spaces.  In  either 
case,  nothing  was  to  be  feared  from  it,  unless  it  should  cause 
inflammation,  and  in  that  event  it  could  be  located  at  once  and 
removed  without  difficulty. 

CRITICAL  PERIOD. 

"  I  asked  the  doctor  how  long  it  would  be  before  inflamma- 
tion appeared  if  I  should  shoot  myself  in  the  leg  and  the  bullet 
should  lodge  there.  He  told  me  that  it  would  appear  within 
thirty-six  hours  after  the  operation.  In  the  President's  case  that 
period  has  been  passed,  and,  as  no  unfavorable  symptoms  have 
occurred,  I  believe  that  nothing  serious  is  to  be  feared  from  the 
presence  of  the  bullet.  It  has  probably  been  encysted  long  ago." 

Secretary  Gage  said  that  there  were  no  pending  matters  of 
importance  at  present,  the  settlement  of  which  would  be  embar- 
rassed by  the  attack  upon  the  President's  life.  He  and  Senator 
Hanna  then  joked  about  the  monetary  affairs  of  the  Government, 
their  tones  indicating  even  more  clearly  than  their  assurances 
that  the  two  men  were  completely  reassured  as  to  the  President's 
condition. 

"I  shall  go  to  Washington,"  said  Secretary  Gage.  "It 
seems  to  me  that  my  place  is  there." 


HOPES  OF  THE   PRESIDENT'S  RECOVERY.  243 

The  deep  interest  manifested  in  the  President's  welfare  over- 
shadowed everything  else,  even  the  Exposition  and  business. 
Special  services  were  held  daily  at  St.  Paul's  Church,  where  noon- 
day prayers  were  offered  for  the  President's  recovery.  When  the 
Right  Rev.  Bishop  Walker  began  the  service  on  Tuesday  the 
church  was  well  filled  with  worshipers. 

At  ten  o'clock  Abner  McKinley,  brother  of  the  President ; 
William  Hawk,  of  Canton,  an  intimate  of  the  President's  family, 
and  Charles  Miller,  also  of  Canton  and  a  cousin  of  the  President, 
with  Colonel  W.  C.  Brown,  of  New  Yerk,  came  up  the  avenue  in 
an  automobile  at  lively  speed  and  were  promptly  admitted. 
Later,  when  Abner  McKinley  emphasized  the  statement  that  the 
President  was  rapidly  improving,  the  glad  tidings  went  along  the 
line  of  anxious  watchers. 

As  Mr.  McKinley's  brother  departed  Senator  Hanna  and 
other  friends  arrived,  and  presently  the  cottage  piazza  was  full  of 
guests.  Messengers  were  running  with  joyful  briskness,  and  a 
score  of  cameras  were  leveled  at  Mr.  Hanna,  who  simply  beamed 
on  everybody  and  even  addressed  pleasant  words  to  the  photo- 
graphers. 

FAVORABLE  NEWS. 

When  Senator  Hanna  left  the  cottage,  half  an  hour  later,  his 
face  was  in  smiles,  and  he  walked  arm  in  arm  with  a  friend  down 
the  pavement  telling  every  one  that  the  day  for  anxiety  had 
passed.  Senator  Fairbanks  and  Mr.  Dawes,  Controller  of  the 
Currency,  emerged  from  the  cottage  ten  minutes  later,  their  faces 
also  smiling,  and  the  exclamations  "Splendid!  Splendid!  Good 
news  indeed  !"  fell  from  the  lips  of  Senator  Fairbanks. 

As  the  rising  temperature  drove  the  chill  of  the  morning 
from  the  atmosphere  it  had  a  new  rallying  effect  on  the  President. 
In  an  incredibly  short  time  the  news  was  on  every  lip  that  the 
President  was  really  going  to  recover.  The  temperature  con- 
tinued falling  and  the  pulse  and  respiration  gradually  return  :d 
toward  that  much  longed  for  point,  normal. 

At  noon  the  President  was  said  to  be  asleep,  and  later  his 
condition  was  reported  as  improving  so  rapidly  as  to  make  an 


244  HOPES  OF  THE  PRESIDENTS   RECOVERY. 

X-ray  search  for  the  bullet  unnecessary.  A  second  operation 
was  not  considered  imperative,  unless  the  bullet  should  be  found 
near  the  spine  and  liable  to  cause  paralysis.  All  these  points 
were  discussed  with  surprising  freedom  by  the  crowds  strung 
along  the  barricade  north  and  south  of  the  cottage. 

Vice-President  Roosevelt  came  at  noon,  and  when  he  left  the 
cottage  his  manner  indicated  that  danger  had  passed.  He  was 
accosted  by  a  negro  trimming  a  lawn  on  the  avenue. 

"  May  I  shake  your  hand  ? "  asked  the  black  man,  as  he 
approached  Mr.  Roosevelt.  "You  certainly  may,"  replied  the 
Vice-President,  grasping  his  hand  heartily.  Two  workingmen 
with  dinner  pails  came  along,  and  they,  too,  greeted  the  Vice- 
President,  who  shook  them  warmly  by  the  hand. 

"  Are  you  not  afraid  to  be  stopped  ?  "  one  of  them  asked. 

HAS  NO  FEAR. 

"  No,"  replied  Mr.  Roosevelt,  with  animation.  "  I  hope  no 
official  in  our  country  will  ever  be  afraid.  You  workingmen  are 
our  protection,  and  I  am  sure  that  the  crime  of  Friday  will  only 
make  you  more  determined  to  have  the  laws  enforced  and  the 
lives  of  public  officials  whom  you  elect  to  office  protected.  Such 
men  as  you,  with  the  ballot,  are  the  salvation  of  the  country,  and 
there  is  no  need  of  resorting  to  violence." 

As  Mr.  Roosevelt  continued  walking  he  was  asked  about  the 
President's  condition.  "  I  have  every  faith,"  he  said,  "  in  the 
physicians,  and  I  believe  the  bulletins  are  not  too  sanguine. 
I  am  convinced  that  the  President  will  recover,  and  rapidly,  too. 
As  a  matter  of  fact,  the  country  is  full  of  old  soldiers,  many  of 
whom  carry  bullets  in  their  bodies,  and  they  do  not  suffer  any 
great  inconvenience  or  pain.  I  remember  two  of  my  own  men 
who  were  shot  in  the  same  manner  in  the  Cuban  War.  Yet  they 
lay  in  the  marshes,  as  extraordinary  as  it  may  seem,  for  some 
considerable  time  without  attendance,  and  both  recovered.  Yes. 
I  believe  the  President  is  out  of  danger." 

The  day  following  came  another  reassuring  statement  from 
the  President's  chamber. 


HOPES   OF   THE   PRESIDENT'S   RECOVERY.  245 

"  President  McKinley' s  condition  continues  favorable.  While 
this  is  true,  and  there  is  no  intention  to  give  needless  alarm,  it  is 
not  unfair  now  to  say  that  optimism  may  be  carried  to  an  extreme. 
The  Presient  is  still  far  on  the  wrong  side  of  the  line  of  absolute 
safety.  This  is  established  by  the  information  given  by  a  mem- 
ber of  his  official  family,  which  is  to  the  effect  that  even  if  Presi- 
dent McKinley  continues  to  improve  as  steadily  as  he  has  during 
the  last  four  days  it  will  not  be  less  than  three  weeks,  and  proba- 
bly a  month,  before  he  can  leave  Buffalo. 

"  So  far  is  it  from  my  intention  to  give  cause  for  alarm 
concerning  President  McKinley  that  I  will  say  that  all  news  from 
him  to-day  was  good  news.  The  President  is  becoming  stronger 
every  hour.  He  is  now  able  to  move  himself  about  in  bed  with 

little  difficulty. 

LIKELY  TO  CARRY  THE  BULLET. 

"That  he  will  probably  carry  the  bullet  of  the  assassin  with 
him  to  the  grave,  is  the  opinion  of  Dr.  Charles  McBurney.  In  a 
statement  this  morning  after  the  consultation  of  the  physicians 
he  said  that  unless  the  bullet  embedded  in  the  muscles  of  the 
back  caused  trouble  there  would  be  no  necessity  to  extract  it.  In 
his  opinion,  it  would  not  even  be  located  with  the  X-ray.  Nothing 
could  be  gained  by  the  use  of  the  X-ray,  he  said,  except  the 
satisfaction  of  curiosity.  President  McKinley  has  been  permitted 
several  times  to-day  to  drink  water,  the  first  he  has  had  since  the 
attempt  was  made  upon  his  life.  The  amount  given  has  been 
small,  but  that  he  has  received  any  indicates  the  confidence  of 
his  physicians. 

"  Nourishment  in  a  liquid  form  is  also  being  administered 
to  him  in  the  normal  manner  and  without  the  slightest  ill  effect. 
This  is  considered  one  of  the  best  symptoms  of  his  convalescence. 
Gradually  this  liquid  nourishment  will  be  strengthened,  and  if 
there  are  no  setbacks  it  will  be  only  a  few  days  before  Mr.  Mc- 
Kinley will  be  allowed  solid  food.  At  first  it  will  be  only  in 
infinitely  small  quantities,  but  if  no  ill  effects  follow  the  amount 
will  be  increased  as  the  physicians  think  best. 

"  Realizing  the  intense  interest  that  exists  on  the  part  of  the 


246  HOPES   OF  THE   PRESIDENT'S   RECOVERY. 

public  in  everything  that  pertains  to  President  McKinley,  the 
authorities  to-day  gave  permission  to  an  artist  to  sketch  within 
the  Milburn  house.  He  was  not  permitted  to  enter  the  room 
where  the  President  rests,  but  that  room  was  carefully  described 
to  him  by  those  who  do  go  in  and  out. 

"  Great  interest  in  current  events  is  being  manifested  by 
President  McKinley,  but  thus  far  all  knowledge  of  the  world  out- 
side the  room  he  occupies  has  been  kept  from  him.  While  per- 
haps no  harm  would  come  from  his  being  informed  of  the  world's 
doings,  it  is  deemed  wise  for  the  present  to  give  him  as  little  as 
possible  to  think  about. 

"  No  one  has  yet  been  allowed  to  see  him  except  Mrs. 
McKinley,  Secretary  Cortelyou  and  the  physicians.  Even  Mrs. 
McKiuley  goes  to  his  room  only  once  a  day  and  then  remains  for 
only  a  short  time.  To-day  she  did  not  go  to  the  President  until 
after  her  drive,  and  then  sat  beside  his  bed  only  a  few  minutes. 

DEVOTED  AND  COURAGEOUS. 

"  When  Mrs.  McKinley  visits  the  President  very  little  is  said 
by  either.  Sitting  beside  his  bed,  the  devoted  and  courageous 
wife  holds  her  husband's  hand  and  in  silent  communion  for  the 
most  part  they  pass  the  minutes  allowed  them  to  be  together  by 
the  careful  physicians. 

"There  is  little  distinction  between  day  and  night  in  the 
President's  room.  He  has  no  regular  hours  for  sleeping,  but 
every  few  hours  he  becomes  drowsy  and  he  generally  sleeps 
several  hours  at  a  time.  There  is  always  a  nurse  in  attendance 
upon  him,  and  at  least  one  of  the  physicians  remains  in  an  ad- 
joining room.  When  he  awakens  from  one  of  his  naps  he  is 
given  a  small  drink  of  water  containing  nourishing  ingredients, 
and  the  physician  in  charge  takes  his  temperature,  pulse  and 
respiration. 

"  It  is  not  often  that  more  than  two  persons  are  in  his  room 
at  the  same  time,  quiet  being  one  of  the  main  necessities  at 
present,  and  the  physicians  are  extremely  careful  not  to  disturb 
him  more  than  is  absolutely  necessary.  Whichever  one  is  to 


HOPES   OF   THE   PRESIDENT'S  RECOVERY.  241 

make  the  examination  at  any  particular  time  goes  in  alone  and 
makes  a  report  to  the  others. 

"During  the  visits  of  Mrs.  McKinley  to  the  President's  bed- 
side there  has  been  no  discussion  of  the  attempted  assassination. 
Mrs.  McKinley,  however,  is  in  possession  of  all  the  facts  connected 
with  it.  Almost  immediately  after  the  President  was  removed 
from  the  Exposition  grounds  to  the  Milburn  residence,  the  opera- 
tion being  over,  she  was  taken  by  Dr.  Rixey  to  his  room  and  she- 
then  knew  all  but  the  most  harrowing  details.  The  news  was 
broken  to  her  as  gently  as  possible,  but  no  effort  was  made  to 
conceal  the  main  facts  from  her. 

"Her  strength,  courage  and  cheerfulness  have  been  the 
marvel  of  all  those  who  know  her  best,  but  they  have  feared  she 
would  by  this  time  break  down  under  the  strain.  Yet  she  seems 
stronger  to-day  than  ever  and  never  had  been  more  self-contained 
and  cheerful  than  when  she  visited  the  President  this  afternoon." 

WHAT  A  DETECTIVE  SAID. 

In  an  interview,  Secret  Service  Detective  Ireland,  who,  with 
Detectives  Foster  and  Gallagher,  were  near  the  President  when 
the  shots  were  fired,  said : 

"  It  is  incorrect,  as  has  been  stated,  that  the  least  fear  of  an 
assault  was  entertained  by  the  Presidential  party.  Since  the 
Spanish  War  the  President  has  traveled  all  over  the  country,  and 
has  met  people  everywhere.  In  Canton  he  walks  to  church  and 
downtown  without  the  sign  of  secret  service  men  of  any  kind, 
as  an  escort.  In  Washington  he  walks  about  the  White  House 
grounds,  drives  out  freely,  and  has  enjoyed  much  freedom  from 
the  presence  of  detectives. 

"  It  has  been  my  custom  to  stand  back  of  the  President,  and 
just  to  his  left,  so  that  I  could  see  the  right  hand  of  every  person 
approaching,  but  yesterday  I  was  requested  to  stand  opposite  the 
President  so  that  Mr.  Milburn  could  stand  to  the  left  and  intro- 
duce the  people  who  approached.  That  way  I  was  unable  to  get 
a  good  look  at  everyone's  right  hand. 

"  A  few  moments  before  Czolgosz  approached,  a  man  came 


248  HOPES  OF  -THE  PRESIDENTS   RECOVERY. 

along  with  three  fingers  of  his  right  hand  tied  in  a  bandage  and 
he  had  shaken  hands  with  his  left.     When  Czolgosz   came  up  I 
noticed  he  was  a  boyish  looking  fellow,  with  an  innocent  face 
perfectly  calm,  and  I  also  noticed  that  his  right  hand  was  wrappe 
in  what  appeared  to  be  a  bandage. 

"I  watched  him  closely,  but  was  interrupted  by  the  man  in 
front  of  him,  who  held  on  to  the  President's  hand  an  unusually 
long  time  This  man  appeared  to  be  an  Italian,  and  wore  a  short, 
heavy,  black  mustache.  He  was  persistent,  and  it  was  necessary 
for  me  to  push  him  along  so  that  the  others  could  reach 

President.  ,      _. 

"  Tust  as  he  released  the  President's  hand,  and  as  the  Presi- 
dent was  reaching  for  the  hand  of  the  assassin,  there  were  two 
quick  shots.  Startled  for  a  moment,  I  looked  up  and  saw 
President  draw  his  right  hand  up  under  his  coat,  straighten  up 
and,  pressing  his  lips  together,  give  Czolgosz  the  most  scornful 
and  contemptuous  look  possible  to  imagine. 

THE  BIG  COLORED  MAN. 

«  At  the  same  time  I  reached  for  the  young  man  and  caught 
his  left  arm.  The  big  colored  man  standing  just  back  of  him, 
and  who  would  have  been  the  next  to  take  the  President^  hand, 
struck  the  young  man  in  the  neck  with  one  hand,  and  with  the 
other  reached  for  the  revolver,  which  had  been  discharged  through 
the  handkerchief  and  the  shots  from  which  had  set  fire 

linen.  .         j  i 

"Immediately  a  dozen  men  fell  upon  the  assassin  and  bore 
him  to  the  floor.  While  on  the  floor  Czolgosz  again  tried  to  dis- 
charge the  revolver,  but  before  he  could  point  it  at  the  President, 
it  was  knocked  from  his  hand  by  the  colored  man.  It  n 
across  the  floor  and  one  of  the  artillerymen  picked  it  up  and  put 
it  in  his  pocket.  On  the  way  down  to  the  station  Czolgosz  would 
not  say  a  word,  but  seemed  greatly  agitated," 


CHAPTER  XIII 

Last  Hours  of  the  President— "  It  is  God's  Way,  His  Will 
be  Done" — Anxious  Multitudes  Await  the  Sorrowful 
Tidings— Universal  Grief  and  Sympathy. 

Friday  morning,  September  thirteenth,  the  unexpected  Intel, 
ligence  was  sent  forth  to  the  world  that  President  McKinley 
had  suffered  a  serious  relapse  and  was  at  death's  door.  The  news 
came  with  greater  force  from  the  fact  that  through  five  preceding 
days  the  bulletins  from  the  sick  room  had  been  so  encouraging 
and  satisfactory. 

All  the  hopes  that  had  been  inspired  of  the  illustrious 
patient's  recovery  were  suddenly  extinguished.  The  country  may 
be  said  to  have  almost  held  its  breath  during  the  day,  which  closed 
with  the  gloomy  announcement  that  the  President  could  not  live. 
The  suspense  was  universal  and  gloom  was  written  on  every  face. 

Milburn  House,  Buffalo,  N.  Y.,  Sept.  14. — President  McKinle}' 
died  at  the  Milburn  house  at  2.15  A.  M.  in  the  morning  of  Sep- 
tember 1 4th.  He  has  been  unconscious  since  7.50  P.  M.  His 
last  conscious  hour  on  earth  was  spent  with  the  wife  to  whom  he 
devoted  a  lifetime  of  care  His  last  words  were  an  humble  sub- 
mission to  the  will  of  the  God  in  whom  he  believed.  He  was 
reconciled  to  the  cruel  fate  to  which  an  assassin's  bullet  had  con- 
demned him,  and  faced  death  in  the  same  spirit  of  calmness  and 
poise  which  marked  his  long  and  honorable  career. 

His  relatives  and  the  members  of  his  official  family  were  at 
the  Milburn  house,  except  Secretary  Wilson,  who  did  not  avail 
himself  of  the  opportunity,  and  some  of  his  personal  and  political 
friends  took  leave  of  him.  This  painful  ceremony  was  simple.  His 
friends  came  to  the  door  of  the  sick  room,  took  a  longing  glance 
at  him  and  turned  tearfully  away.  He  was  practically  unconscious 
during  this  time.  But  the  powerful  heart  stimulants,  including 
oxygen,  were  employed  to  restore  him  to  consciousness  for. his 
final  parting  with  his  wife.  He  asked  for  her,  and  she  sat  at  his 

249 


260  LAST   HOURS   OF   THE    PRESIDENT. 

side  and  held  his  hand.  He  consoled  her  and  bade  her  good-bye. 
She  went  through  the  heart  trying  scene  with  the  same  bravery 
and  fortitude  with  which  she  bore  the  grief  of  the  tragedy  which 
ended  his  life. 

Before  6  o'clock  it  was  clear  to  those  at  the  President's  bed- 
side that  he  was  dying  and  preparations  were  made  for  the  last 
sad  offices  of  farewell  from  those  who  were  nearest  and  dearest  to 
him.  Oxygen  had  been  administered  steadily,  but  with  little 
effect  in  keeping  back  the  approach  of  death.  The  President 
came  out  of  one  period  of  unconsciousness  only  to  relapse  into 
another.  But  in  this  period,  when  his  mind  was  partially  clear, 
occurred  a  series  of  events  of  profundly  touching  character. 
Downstairs,  with  strained  and  tear  stained  faces,  members  of  the 
Cabinet  were  grouped  in  anxious  waiting. 

KNEW  THE  END  WAS  NEAR. 

They  knew  the  end  was  near,  and  that  the  time  had  come 
when  they  must  see  him  for  the  last  time  on  earth.  This  was 
about  6  o'clock.  One  by  one  they  ascended  the  stairway — 
Secretary  Root,  Secretary  Hitchcock  and  Attorney  General  Knox. 
Secretary  Wilson  also  was  there,  but  he  held  back,  not  wishing 
to  see  the  President  in  his  last  agony.  There  was  only  a 
momentary  stay  of  the  Cabinet  officers  at  the  threshold  of  the 
death  chamber.  Then  they  withdrew,  the  tears  streaming  down 
their  faces  and  the  words  of  intense  grief  choking  in  their 
throats. 

After  ihey  left  the  sick  room,  the  physicians  rallied  him  to 
consciouness,  and  the  President  asked  almost  immediately  that 
his  wife  be  brought  to  him.  The  doctors  fell  back  into  the 
shadows  of  the  room  as  Mrs.  McKinley  came  through  the  door- 
way. The  strong  face  of  the  dying  man  lighted  up  with  a  faint 
smile  as  their  hands  were  clasped.  She  sat  beside  him  and  held 
his  hand.  Despite  her  physical  weakness,  she  bore  up  bravely 
under  the  ordeal. 

.  The  President  in  his  last  period  of  consciouness,  which  ended 
about  7.40,  chanted  the  words  of  the  hyinn,  "  Nearer,  My  God,  to 


LAST  HOURS  OF  THE   PRESIDENT  251 

Theey '  and  his  last  audible  conscious  words  as  taken  down  by  Dr. 
Mann  at  the  bedside  were  : 

"  Good-bye,  all,  good-bye.  It  is  God's  way.  His  will  be  done." 
Then  his  mind  began  to  wander,  and  soon  afterward  he  com- 
pletely lost  consciousness.  His  life  was  prolonged  for  hours  by 
.the  administration  of  oxygen,  and  the  President  finally  expressed 
a  desire  to  be  allowed  to  die.  About  8.30  the  administration  of 
oxygen  ceased  and  the  pulse  grew  fainter  and  fainter.  He  was 
sinking  gradually  like  a  child  into  the  eternal  slumber.  By  10 
o'clock  the  pulse  could  no  longer  be  felt  in  his  extremities,  and 
they  grew  cold.  Below  stairs  the  grief  stricken  gathering  waited 
sadly  for  the  end. 

All  the  evening  those  who  had  hastened  here  as  fast  as  steel 
and  steam  could  carry  them  continued  to  arrive.  They  drove  up 
in  carriages  at  a  gallop  or  whisked  up  in  automobiles,  all  intent 
upon  getting  here  before  death  came.  One  of  the  last  to  arrive 
was  Attorney  General  Knox,  who  reached  the  house  at  9.30.  He 
was  permitted  to  go  upstairs  to  look  for  the  last  time  on  the 
face  of  his  chief. 

"THE  PRESIDENT  IS  DYING." 

At  9.37  Secretary  Cortelyou,  who  had  been  much  of  the  time 
with  his  dying  chief,  sent  out  formal  notification  that  the  Presi- 
dent was  dying.  But  the  President  lingered  on,  his  pulse  growing 
fainter  and  fainter. 

There  was  no  need  for  official  bulletins  after  this.  Those 
who  came  from  the  house  at  intervals  told  the  same  story — that  the 
President  was  dying,  and  that  the  end  might  come  at  any  time. 
His  tremendous  vitality  was  the  only  remaining  factor  in  the 
result,  and  this  gave  hope  only  of  brief  postponement  of  the  end. 
Secretary  Root  and  Secretary  Wilson  came  from  the  house  about 
midnight,  and  paced  up  and  down  the  sidewalk.  All  that  Secre- 
tar}^  Root  said  was :  "  The  night  has  not  yet  come." 

Despite  the  fact  that  vitality  continued  to  ebb  as  midnight 
approached  no  efforts  were  spared  to  keep  the  spark  of  life  glow- 
ing. Dr-  Janeway,  of  New  York  city,  arrived  at  the  Buffalo  depot 


252  LAST   HOURS   OF  THE   PRESIDENT. 

at  11.40  o'clock.  George  Urban  was  waiting  for  him,  and  they 
drove  at  a  breakneck  pace  to  the  Milburn  house.  He  was  shown 
to  the  President's  room  at  once,  and  began  an  examination  of  the 
almost  inanimate  form. 

Secretary  of  the  Navy  Long  arrived  at  the  Milburn  house  at 
12.06  o'clock.  This  was  his  first  visit  to  the  city,  and  he  had  the 
extreme  satisfaction  of  seeing  the  President  alive,  even  though 
he  was  not  conscious  of  his  visitor's  presence.  Secretary  Long 
was  visibly  effected. 

LOOKING  ANXIOUSLY  FOR  ROOSEVELT. 

There  was  no  possibility  that  Mr.  Roosevelt  would  get  to 
Buffalo  Friday  night.  Ansley  Wilcox,  who  entertained  the  Vice- 
President,  said  to  inquirers  that  the  best  information  he  had  was 
that  Mr.  Roosevelt  would  arrive  next  day.  He  said  that  the  Vice- 
President  would  be  unable  to  reach  a  railroad  station  much  before 
4  o'clock  next  morning,  and  that  would  bring  him  to  Buffalo 
about  noon  on  Saturday.  Mr.  Wilcox  said,  in  explanation  of 
Mr.  Roosevelt's  being  so  far  out  of  touch  : 

"  The  Vice  President  was  at  all  times  very  optimistic,  and 
when  he  went  away  was  absolutely  positive  that  the  President 
would  recover,  and  that  the  convalescence  would  be  rapid.  He 
certainly  never  expected  to-day's  sad  occurrences." 

Shortly  after  midnight  the  President's  breathing  was  barely 
perceptible.  His  pulse  had  practically  ceased,  and  the  extremities 
were  cold.  It  was  recognized  that  nothing  remained  but  the  last 
struggle,  and  some  of  the  friends  of  the  family  who  had  remained 
through  the  day,  began  to  leave  the  house,  not  caring  to  be 
present  at  the  final  scenes. 

Such  an  intense  state  of  anxiety  existed  among  the  watchers 
that  rumors  gained  frequent  circulation  that  death  already  had 
actually  occurred.  The  arrival  of  the  coroner  gave  rise  to  one  of 
such  rumors,  and  numerous  groundless  despatches  were  sent  say- 
ing that  the  end  had  come.  These  were  speedily  set  at  rest  by 
an  official  statement  from  within  the  house  that  the  reports  of 
death  were  groundless,  and  that  the  President  still  lived. 


LAST   HOURS   OF   THE   PRESIDENT.  253 

Coroner  Wilson  said  that  he  had  been  ordered  by  the  District 
Attorney  of  the  county  to  go  to  the  Milburn  residence  as  soon  as 
possible  after  the  announcement  of  death.  He  had  seen  a  reput- 
able local  paper  issued,  with  the  announcement  that  the  Presi- 
dent died  at  11.06  P.  M.,  and  had  hurried  up  so  that  there  would 
be  no  delay  in  removing  the  body.  He  was  very  much  chagrined 
when  Dr.  Mann  met  him  at  the  door  and  told  him  that  his  services 
were  not  required  and  that  he  would  be  notified  when  he  was 
wanted.  Dr.  Mann  said  that  the  President  was  still  alive 
and  that  Dr.  Janeway  was  examining  the  heart  action.  There 
was  really  no  hope,  but  they  did  not  desire  gruesome  antici- 
pation. 

One  of  the  members  of  the  Cabinet  who  came  from  the  house 
at  2  o'clock  for  a  stroll  along  the  front  walk  said  a  meeting  of  the 
Cabinet  would  be  held  probably  in  the  morning  to  take  such 
action  as  would  be  required  by  the  circumstances.  He  said  the 
expectation  of  the  Cabinet  was  that  the  remains  would  be  taken 
to  Washington,  and  then  lie  in  state  in  the  Capitol,  afterwards 
going  to  Canton  for  final  interment. 

FELL  INTO  A  GENTLE  SLUMBER. 

President  McKinley's  death  was  entirely  painless.  He  had 
been  sinking  gradually  but  steadily  through  the  entire  night,  and 
for  almost  four  hours  had  been  unconscious.  When  the  end 
finally  came,  Dr.  Rixey  alone  of  the  physicians  was  with  him,  but 
so  gradual  was  the  approach  of  death  that  it  is  diflicult  to  say  the 
exact  second  he  breathed  his  last.  Dr.  Rixey,  standing  by  the 
bedside,  held  the  President's  hand,  felt  for  the  pulse  that  was 
imperceptible,  bending  forward  he  felt  the  President's  heart  and 
listened  for  the  breath  that  was  not  drawn,  and  then  announced 
the  end. 

When  the  announcement  was  first  made  to  Mrs.  McKinley 
that  her  husband  could  not  live,  she  seemed  to  be  resigned  and 
bore  up  bravely,  but  as  the  full  significance  of  her  loss  came  upon 
her,  she  gave  way  under  the  strain,  and  at  the  time  of  her  hus- 
band's death  she  was  under  the  care  of  a  physician  and  nurses. 


254  LAST    HOURS   OF   THE    PRESIDENT. 

It  was  feared  that  she  will  recover  from  the  loss  of  her  husband 
with  difficulty,  if  at  all. 

Immediately  after  the  death  of  President  McKinley,  Secre- 
tary Cortelyou  came  out  of  the  Milburn  house  and  to  the  visiting 
newspaper  men  announced  the  end.  A  telegram  had  been  sent 
to  President  Roosevelt  and  an  attempt  was  made  to  intercept  him 
on  his  journey.  A  call  was  issued  for  a  Cabinet  meeting  early  in 
the  morning. 

The  announcement  rf  the  death  to  the  members  of  the  Cabi- 
net was  made  by  Webb  Hayes,  who  said  :  "  It  is  all  over." 

Mrs.  McKinley  last  saw  her  husband  between  n  and  12.  At 
that  time  she  sat  by  the  bedside  holding  his  hand.  The  mem- 
bers of  the  Cabinet  were  admitted  to  the  sick  room  singly  at  that 
time.  The  actual  death  probably  occurred  about  two  o'clock,  it 
being  understood  that  Dr.  Rixey  delayed  the  announcement 
momentarily  to  assure  himself. 

GREAT  EXCITEMENT  ON  THE  AVENUE. 

The  announcement  of  the  news  to  those  waiting  below  was 
postponed  until  the  members  of  the  family  had  withdrawn. 
Through  Secretary  Cortelyou  the  waiting  newspaper  men  received 
the  notification.  In  a  trice  there  was  the  keenest  excitement  on 
the  broad  avenue,  but  there  was  no  semblance  of  disorder. 

When  the  news  was  imparted  to  those  down  stairs  a  great  sigh 
of  anguish  went  up  from  the  strong  men  there  assembled.  The 
members  of  the  Cabinet,  Senators  and  close  friends  remained  but 
a  few  minutes.  Then,  with  mournful  tread  and  bowed  heads, 
they  came  out  into  the  darkness  and  went  away.  There  was  not 
one  among  them  with  dry  eyes,  and  some  moaned  in  an  agony  of 
grief. 

The  military  guard  was  augmented  immediately  upon  the 
announcement.  The  waiting  crowds  melted  away  rapidly,  giving 
expression  in  unmistakable  terms  to  the  great  sorrow  they  felt. 
Within  a  brief  space  of  time  the  newspaper  men,  the  police,  the 
sentries  of  the  guard,  and  those  whose  duties  kept  them  abroad, 
were  the  only  persons  in  evidence  within  the  immediate  vicinity. 


LAST   HOURS   OF   THE   PRESIDENT.  265 

Senator  Burroughs  said:    "The  President's  death  seemed  to  be 
painless.     He  seemed  to  fall  into  calm  and  peaceful  repose." 

With  the  momentary  excitement  incident  upon  the  announce- 
ment at  an  end,  the  entire  scene  became  one  of  unmistakable  and 
deep  mourning.  As  if  nature  lent  its  aid  to  the  grieving  crowds, 
a  dense  fog  settled  like  a  pall  over  the  city.  The  Milburn  house 
became  a  tomb  of  silence.  Lights  not  extinguished  were 
dimmed,  visitors  were  denied  admittance  and  the  mourning 
family  and  their  more  intimate  friends  were  speedily  left  alone 
with  their  distinguished  dead. 

OFFICIAL  ANNOUNCEMENT. 

When  the  blow  fell  and  official  announcement  came  that 
President  McKinle}*  had  passed  away  at  2.15  o'clock,  the  crowds 
which  had  been  on  the  streets,  restlessly  and  sorrowfully 
awaiting  news  of  the  end,  had  retired  for  the  night,  as  had  all  the 
Government  officials  save  a  few  clerks  at  the  State,  War  and  Navy 
Departments.  Secretary  Hay  had  given  directions  what  should 
be  done,  and  Acting  Chief  Clerk  Martin  and  other  employes,  as 
soon  as  they  received  official  confirmation  of  the  news,  immedi- 
ately indicted  cablegrams  to  each  and  every  United  States  Ambas- 
sador and  Minister,  notifying  them  that  President  McKinley  died 
at  2.15  o'clock  in  the  morning,  in  Buffalo,  and  instructing  them 
so  to  inform  the  Governments  to  which  they  were  accredited. 

There  were  no  details  in  the  messages — nothing  but  this 
brief  announcement — and  they  were  identical  in  language,  except 
in  the  names  of  the  persons  addressed.  The  Ambassadors  and 
Ministers  were  expected  to  communicate  the  information  in  turn 
to  the  United  States  Consular  officers  within  the  limits  of 
their  posts.  In  cases  of  countries  like  Australia  and  Canada, 
where  the  United  States  Government  is  not  represented  in  a  diplo- 
matic capacity,  messages  of  like  character  were  sent  to  the 
United  States  Consuls  General,  who  were  to  repeat  them  to  the 
Consuls.  The  original  message  was  signed  by  Secretary  Hay, 
Mr.  Babcock,  his  private  secretary,  having  taken  it  from  the 
State  Department  to  the  Secretary's  home  for  that  purpose. 


256  LAST  HOURS  OF  THE  PRESIDENT. 

Arrangements  were  made  by  which  Secretary  Hay  would 
meet  Acting  Secretary  of  War  Gillespie  and  Acting  Secretary  of 
the  Navy  Hackett  in  the  State  Department  in  the  morning  for 
the  purpose  of  promulgating  the  necessary  orders  of  the  three 
departments.  The  order  of  the  War  Department  was  prepared. 
It  was  drafted  on  lines  similar  to  that  issued  when  President  Gar- 
field  was  stricken.  It  was  telegraphed  to  Secretary  Root  for  his 
approval,  and  issued  in  his  name.  The  order  was  addressed  to  all 
division  and  department  commanders  in  the  United  States,  the 
Philippines,  Cuba,  Porto  Rico  and  Alaska,  and  announced  the 
death  of  President  McKinley,  and  directed  that  all  work  be  sus- 
pended for  the  day,  all  flags  to  be  at  half  staff,  and  that  thirteen 
guns  be  fired  in  the  morning  and  one  at  intervals  of  half  an  hour 
and  forty-five  guns  at  suuset.  • 

A  GUARD  OF  HONOR. 

A  similar  order  was  issued  by  the  Navy  Department.  It  is 
also  stated  that  a  guard  of  honor,  consisting  of  high  officers  of  the 
army  and  navy,  would  be  named  to  escort  the  remains  of  the  dead 
President  to  Washington  and  to  the  place  of  interment. 

The  White  House  promptly  sent  the  official  announcement 
it  had  receieved  of  the  death  to  Secretaries  Hay  and  Gage,  the 
only  Cabinet  members  in  town,  and  notified  the  Commissioners 
of  the  Distrct  of  Columbia.  The  White  House  flag  was  half- 
masted,  but  a  comparatively  recentlact  of  Congress  forbids  draping 
public  buildings  with  emblems  of  mourning. 

When  the  bulletins  from  the  Milburn  house  grew  hopeless 
in  tone,  preparations  were  made  by  the  police  and  military  to 
preserve  the  public  peace  and  protect  the  assassin,  Czolgosz. 
During  the  period  of  general  rejoicing,  marked  by  the  reports  of 
the  President's  improvement,  public  feeling  against  Czolgosz 
passed  from  the  violent  form  it  took  on  the  day  and  night  of  the 
shooting.  But  this  bitterness  returned  when  it  became  evident 
that  the  President  must  die,  and  the  temper  of  the  people, 
gathered  in  knots  and  crowds  in  the  streets,  was  for  violence. 
Each  fresh  bulletin,  carrying  only  bad  news,  brought  out  expres- 


LAST  HOURS  OF  THE  PRESIDENT.  267 

sions  against  Czolgosz.  Superintendent  of  Police  Bull  held  the 
full  police  department  in  reserve,  and  made  his  plans  so  that  300 
men  could  be  assembled  at  police  headquarters  in  five  mtnutes' 
notice. 

After  communication  with  Superintendent  Bull,  Colonel  M. 
Welch  ordered  out  the  Sixty-fifth  and  Seventy-fourth  Regiments 
of  the  National  Guard.  These  regiments  were  assembled  at  their 
arsenals  at  8.15  o'clock,  and  stood  armed  in  readiness  to  any  call. 
Colonel  Welch,  who  commands  the  Sixty-fifth  Regiment,  said 
that  he  and  Colonel  Fox,  of  the  Seventy-fourth,  had  agreed  on 
this  course.  "  I  have  ordered  the  regiments  to  assemble  at  the 
armories  on  my  own  responsibility,"  said  Colonel  Welch.  "They 
will  be  prepared  to  respond  to  any  call  from  the  Superintendent 
of  Police  or  the  Mayor  to  quell  riot  or  disturbance,  to  protect 
police  headquarters  and  to  maintain  law  and  order  in  the  city." 

% 

REGIMENTS  ON  DUTY. 

The  members  of  the  two  regiments  were  summoned  to  their 
armories  by  messenger,  telegraph  and  proclamation  in  theatres 
and  public  places.  This  news  only  helped  to  divert  attention 
from  the  dying  President  to  the  cell  which  held  his  assassin. 
Superintendent  Bull  issued  a  public  statement,  in  which  he  said 
he  was  prepared  to  check,  by  force  if  necessary,  any  demonstra- 
tion that  might  be  made  by  the  people  against  the  prisoner. 

"  Crowds  will  not  be  allowed  to  congregate  on  the  streets," 
said  Superintendent  Bull,  "and  should  people  gather  in  any  con- 
siderable numbers  in  the  vicinity  of  police  headquarters,  they 
will  be  dispersed  promptly.  We  do  not  propose  to  allow  our 
prisoner  to  be  taken  from  us,  and  will  meet  force  with  force.  The 
prisoner  will  not  be  removed  from  police  headquarters  to  the  jail. 
We  are  able  to  protect  him,  and  we  have  the  Sixty-fifth  and 
Seventy-fourth  Regiments  under  arms  if  we  need  them.  No 
matter  how  dastardly  this  man's  crime  is,  we  intend,  for  the  good 
name  of  the  American  people,  to  keep  him  safe  for  the  vengeance 
of  the  law." 

That  these  preparations  were  quite  necessary  became  apparent 

17 


258  LAST   HOURS    OF   THE   PRESIDENT. 

by  8.30  o'clock  at-night,  when  the  people  had  assembled  in  the 
vicinity  of  police  headquarters  in  such  numbers  that  the  streets 
were  blocked  and  impassable.  The  police  roped  off  all  the  streets 
at  a  distance  of  300  to  400  feet  from  the  nearest  point  of  the 
building,  and  refused  to  admit  any  one  within  that  limit.  One 
hundred  patrolmen  patroled  the  ropes  and  fought  back  the 
crowds,  while  the  mounted  men  galloped  to  and  fro  holding  the 
crowds  in  repression. 

New  details  of  police  from  the  outside  stations  came  in  from 
time  to  time,  and  Superintendent  Bull  kept  in  constant  touch  on 
the  telephone  with  Colonel  Welch,  who  was  at  the  Sixty-fifth 
armory,  less  than  a  mile  away.  Among  the  crowds  the  report 
was  circulated  that  Czolgosz  had  been  removed  to  the  jail  or  some 
other  place  of  confinement,  but  this  was  denied  by  Superintendent 
Bull  and  the  other  police  officials. 

LAST  DAY'S  BULLETINS. 

The  reader  will  be  interested  in  the  bulletins  issued  on  the 
day  preceding  the  President's  death. 

The  following  was  issued  by  the  President's  physicians  at 
9  A.  M.  : 

"  The  President's  condition  has  somewhat  improved  during 

the  past  few  hours.     There  is  a  better  response  to  stimulation. 

He  is  conscious  and  free  from  pain.  Pulse,  128  ;  temperature,  99.8. 

"P.  M.  Rixey,  M.  D.  Mann,  Roswell  Park,  Herman  Mynter, 

Eugene  Wasdin,  Charles  G.  Stockton. 

"GEORGE  B.  CORTELYOU, 

"  Secretary  to  the  President." 

"  12.30  P.  M. — The  President's  physicians  report  that  his 
condition  is  practically  unchanged  since  the  9  o'clock  bulletin. 
He  is  sleeping  quietly.  "GEORGE  B.  CORTELYOU, 

"Secretary  to  the  President." 

The  following  bulletin  was  issued  by  the  President's  physi- 
cians at  2.30  P.  M.  : 

"  The  President  has  more  than  held  his  own  since  morning. 


LAST   HOURS   OF   THE   PRESIDENT.  259 

and  his  condition  justifies  the  expectation  of  fnrther  improvement. 
He  is  better  than  yesterday  at  this  time.  Pulse,  123  ;  tempera- 
ture, 99.4. 

"  P.  M.  Rixey,  M.  D.  Mann,  Herman  Mynter,  Eugene  Wasdin, 
George  G.  Stockton.  "  GEORGE  B.  CORTELYOU, 

"Secretary  to  the  President." 

Secretary  Cortelyou  walked  over  to  the  press  headquarters  shortly 
after  the  bulletin  dated  2.30  P.  M.  was  issued,  and  explained  that 
the  sentence  in  the  bulletin,  "he  is  better  than  yesterday  at  this 
time,"  should  be  stricken  out.  When  the  physicians  were  prepar- 
ing the  bulletin,  he  said,  they  had  in  mind  the  President's  condi- 
tion Thursday  up  to  midnight.  It  will  be  remembered  that  it  was 
just  before  that  time  when  the  first  very  alarming  intimation 
began  to  come  from  the  sick  room  about  the  impossibility  of 
scouring  from  the  President's  stomach  the  undigested  food,  which 
not  only  threatened  to  contaminate  the  system,  but  which  caused 
him  exceedingly  great  discomfort.  Resort  had  been  had  to  a 
drastic  bolus  of  calomel  and  oil.  Just  at  midnight  this  radical 
remedy  had  its  effect,  and  the  movement  of  the  bowels  came, 
bringing  with  it  an  immediate  lowering  of  pulse  and  great  relief. 

NO  ENCOURAGEMENT. 

"4  P.  M. — The  President's  physicians  report  that  he  is  only 
slightly  improved  since  the  last  bulletin.  The  pulse  and  tem- 
perature remain  the  same  as  at  that  hour. 

"GEORGE  B.  CORTELYOU, 

"Secretary  to  the  President." 

"5-35  P-  M- — The  President's  physicians  report  that  his  con- 
dition is  grave  at  this  hour.  He  is  suffering  from  extreme  pros- 
tration. Oxygen  is  being  given.  He  responds  to  stimulation  but 
poorly.  Pulse,  125  ;  respiration,  40. 

"GEORGE  B.  CORTELYOU, 

"  Secretary  to  the  President." 

"6.30  P.   M. — The  President's  physicians  report  that   his 
condition  is  most  serious,  in  spite  of  vigorous  stimulation.      The 


260  LAST  HOURS  OF  THE   PRESIDENT. 

depression  continues  and  is  profound.     Unless  it  can  be  ielieved 
the  end  is  only  a  question  of  time. 

"GEORGE  B.  CORTELYOU, 

"  Secretary  to  the  President." 

Hope  and  fear  alternated  all  day  among  the  watchers  in  and 
around  the  Milburn  house.  Every  fragment  of  information  was 
eagerly  sought  in  the  hope  that  it  might  be  construed  to  mean 
that  the  danger  had  passed,  and  that  reasonable  hope  of  the  Presi- 
dent's recovery  might  be  entertained.  Members  of  the  President's 
family,  the  physicians,  the  officials  of  the  Federal  Government, 
and  all  who  passed  in  and  out  of  the  house  during  the  day  were 
questioned  as  to  the  President's  condition,  but  little  of  an  encour- 
aging nature  could  be  learned.  The  truth  was  too  evident  to  be 
passed  over  or  concealed.  The  President's  life  was  hanging  in 
the  balance.  The  watchers  felt  that  any  moment  might  come  the 
announcement  of  a  change  which  would  foreshadow  the  end. 

WAS  TAKING  NOURISHMENT. 

When  the  slight  improvement  noted  in  the  early  bulletins 
was  maintained  during  the  afternoon,  and  it  was  learned  that  the 
President  was  taking  small  quantities  of  nourishment,  hope  rose 
that  he  would  pass  the  crisis  in  safety.  Everybody  knew,  and  no 
attempt  was  made  to  conceal  it,  that  the  coming  night  would  in 
all  human  probability  decide  whether  the  President  was  to  live  or 
die.  It  was  known  that  he  was  being  kept  alive  by  heart  stimu- 
lants, and  that  the  physicians  had  obtained  a  supply  of  oxygen, 
to  be  administered  if  the  worst  came. 

During  the  day  President  McKinley  was  conscious  when  he 
was  not  sleeping.  Early  in  the  morning  when  he  woke  he  looked 
out  of  the  window  and  saw  that  the  sky  was  overcast  with  heavy 
clouds.  "  It  is  not  so  bright  as  it  was  yesterday,"  said  he.  His 
eyes  then  caught  the  waving  leaves  of  the  trees  glistening  with 
rain.  Their  bright  green  evidently  made  an  agreeable  impression 
upon  him. 

"  It  is  pleasant  to  see  them,"  said  he  feebly. 

As  fast  as  steam  could  bring  them  the  members  of  the  Presi- 


LAST   HOURS  OF  THE   PRESIDENT.  201 

dent's  Cabinet,  his  relatives  and  the  physicians,  who  had  left 
Buffalo,  convinced  that  the  President  would  recover,  were  whirled 
back  to  this  city.  They  went  at  once  to  the  house  in  which  he 
was  lying  and  the  information  which  they  obtained  there  was  of  a 
nature  to  heighten,  rather  than  to  relieve  their  fears.  All  night 
the  doctors  had  worked  in  the  sick  room  to  keep  the  President 
alive. 

Day  broke  with  a  gloomy  sky  and  a  pouring  rain  broken  by 
frequent  bursts  of  gusty  downpours.  It  seemed  as  though  nature 
was  sympathizing  with  the  gloom  which  surrounded  the  ivy-clad 
house,  about  which  the  sentries  were  steadily  marching.  Sec- 
retary Cortelyou  and  Mr.  Milburn  had  announced  at  half-past  4 
o'clock  that  the  efforts  of  the  doctors  had  produced  a  rally.  Mrs. 
McKinley  was  then  sleeping  and  great  care  was  taken  to  prevent 
her  from  being  awakened. 

HIS  NATURAL  SLEEP. 

President  McKinley  fell  asleep  at  half  past  5  o'clock,  and 
slept  for  an  hour.  Dr.  Wasdin  said  that  this  was  the  most 
natural  sleep  that  he  had  had  during  the  night. 

Secretary  Hitchcock  and  Mr.  Milburn  appeared  soon  after 
the  President  awoke  at  half-past  6  o'clock.  They  said  that  both 
Dr.  Rixey  and  Dr.  Stockton  believed  the  President  still  had  a 
fighting  chance. 

Almost  as  soon  as  it  became  light  men  and  women  began  to 
gather  at  the  ropes  which  have  been  stretched  across  the  streets 
a  block  away  in  each  direction  from  the  Milburn  jhouse.  As  the 
day  bore  on  the  crowds  increased,  and  were  even  greater  than 
they  were  on  the  day  after  the  President  was  shot. 

It  was  during  the  early  hours  of  the  morning  that  the  Presi- 
dent's sinking  spell  was  at  its  worst,  and  but  little  encourage- 
ment was  drawn  from  the  bulletins  issued  at  9  o'clock.  It  was 
noted  that  whilst  the  President's  temperature  had  fallen  his  pulse 
had  risen  five  beats  in  the  minute,  from  123  to  128,  which  showed 
that  his  heart  was  beating  like  the  ticking  of  a  watch.  The  con- 
clusion was  drawn  that  the  apparent  improvement  in  his  condi- 


202  LAST   HOURS   OF  THE    PRESIDENT. 

tion  was  due  solely  to  the  action  of  the  digitalis,  strychnine  and 
other  medicine  that  had  been  given  him  to  sustain  the  heart 
action. 

Senator  Hanna,  who  went  to  Cleveland,  jubilant  in  the  cer 
tainty  that  the  President  was  going  to  get  well,  and  that  h* 
might  safely  attend  the  meeting  of  the  G.  A.  R.  in  his  home  city, 
reached  the  Milburn  house  at  two  minutes  before  10  o'clock.  In 
his  anxiety  to  reach  the  President's  bedside  he  had  come  from 
Cleveland,  a  distance  of  183  miles,  at  the  rate  of  sixty-eight 
miles  an  hour. 

DISTINGUISHED  ARRIVALS. 

With  Senator  Hanna  came  Mrs.  Hanna,  Judge  Day,  of 
Canton ;  Colonel  Myron  P.  Herrick,  of  Cleveland;  Senator  Fair- 
banks of  Indiana  ;  Mrs.  Duncan  and  Miss  McKinley,  sisters  of 
the  President ;  Miss  Duncan  and  Mrs.  Herrick.  Senator  Hanna 
reached  the  house  first.  The  members  of  his  party  arrived  soon 
afterward.  They  joined  Secretaries  Wilson  and  Hitchcock,  Mr. 
and  Mrs.  Herman  Baer,  Abner  McKinley,  Mrs.  Lafayette 
McWilliams,  Mr.  Milburn,  Wilson  S.  Bissel,  John  N.  Scatcherd 
and  Representative  Alexander,  who  were  in  the  house.  The  new 
arrivals  were  immediately  informed  of  the  critical  condition  of 
the  President  and  their  faces,  which  had  been  grave,  became  still 
graver  as  they  listened. 

At  this  time  anxiety  in  regard  to  the  President's  condition 
had  become  intense  throughout  Buffalo.  Hundreds  of  men, 
women  and  children  were  massed  at  the  ropes,  their  faces  turned 
in  the  direction  of  the  house,  though  many  of  them  were  unable 
to  see  it,  and,  of  course,  all  were  too  far  away  to  be  able  to  hear 
anything.  So  many  persons  had  gathered  in  the  Milburn  house 
that  it  was  crowded.  Groups  formed  on  the  lawn  in  front  of  the 
house  to  discuss  the  situation,  and  to  exchange  the  latest  news 
from  the  doctors. 

Across  the  street  from  the  house  there  were  scores  of  news- 
paper men  waiting  for  news  of  the  President's  condition,  and 
dozens  of  telegraph  instruments  were  ticking  noisily  under  the 


LAST   HOURS  OF  THE   PRESIDENT.  263 

tents  which  had  been  erected  to  shelter  them.  At  a  quarter 
before  n  o'clock  President  McKinley  had  another  nap.  Dr.  Park 
and  Dr.  Rixey  remained  by  his  side. 

Early  in  the  morning,  on  the  advice  of  the  surgeons,  Dr. 
Edward  Jaueway,  of  New  York  city,  and  Dr.  W.  W.  Johnson,  of 
Washington,  were  summoned.  Dr.  Janeway  was  at  St.  Hubert's 
Inn,  in  the  Adirondacks.  He  started  for  Buffalo  as  soon  as  he 
had  been  notified  by  Mr.  Cortelyou  that  his  presence  was  desired. 
Dr.  Johnson  was  at  Jamaica  Island,  off  Portsmouth,  N.  H. 

Secretary  Cortelyou  was  asked  whether  it  was  true  that  the 
physicians  had  been  compelled  to  begin  feeding  the  President 
through  the  stomach  before  it  was  safe  to  do  so  because  the  means 
first  taken  to  give  nourishment  had  caused  irritation,  resulting 
in  the  rejection  of  the  food  which  had  been  injected  before  it  had 
imparted  any  nourishment  to  the  patient.  This  was  the  explana- 
tion commonly  accepted  of  the  surprisingly  short  time  that  had 
been  permitted  to  elapse  before  the  President  was  allowed  to 
receive  liquid  and  even  solid  food  into  his  stomach. 

SATISFACTORY  RESULTS. 

Mr.  Cortelyou  said  that  he  had  not  been  informed  upon  this 
point.  He  said  that  the  stoppage  of  the  functions  of  the  bowels 
had  created  a  poison  in  the  President's  system,  but  that  during 
the  day  this  had  been  practically  eliminated. 

Dr.  Roswell  Park  said  :  "  The  President  was  not  given  solid 
food  before  he  could  stand  it.  He  was  perfectly  able  to  assimilate 
the  food  given  him,  had  it  not  been  that  the  impoverished  food 
affected  the  heart.  The  heart  refused  to  act  properly  without 
strong  blood  food,  and  that  was  why  the  toast,  soaked  in  hot  beef 
juice,  was  given  him.  He  was  not  given  coffee.  He  relished  the 
food,  and  asked  for  a  cigar,  but  this  was  denied.  Everything 
known  to  medical  science  was  done  for  him,  and  there  was  no  mis- 
take made."  Dr.  Herman  Mynter  said  :  "  At  the  time  solid 
food  was  given  him  he  was  able  to  take  it.  There  can  be  no  mis- 
take about  that.  I  do  not  believe  that  the  food  in  his  stomach 
had  much  effect  on  the  heart." 


264  LAST  HOURS  OF  THE  PRESIDENT. 

The  President  was  asleep  at  half-past  i  o'clock.  Only  injec- 
tions of  saline  solution  and  digitalis  in  light  doses  had  been 
used  up  to  that  hour.  One  of  the  physicians  sat  constantly  at 
the  bedside,  with  his  fingers  on  the  President's  pulse,  ready  at 
any  alarming  change  in  the  action  of  the  heart  to  apply  remedies 
which  were  in  readiness  to  be  used  as  a  last  resort.  Tanks  of 
oxygen  were  ready  at  hand  to  be  drawn  upon,  and  all  the  appli- 
ances that  medical  skill  and  science  could  provide  were  within 
reach.  The  beating  of  the  pulse  was  sufficiently  strong  to  enable 
the  physicians  to  permit  the  President  to  have  his  sleep  out. 

Dr.  McBurney  arrived  at  the  Milburn  house  a  little  before  8 
o'clock.  Shortly  after  his  arrival  oxygen  was  administered  to  the 
President,  and  under  its  influence  the  patient  aroused. 

He  was  fully  conscious,  and  whispered  to  Dr.  Rixey  that  he 
knew  that  the  end  was  at  hand.  He  asked  to  see  his  wife,  and 
Mrs.  McKinley  was  sent  for.  She  entered  his  room,  and  it  was 
apparent  to  those  present  that  of  the  two  principal  figures  in  this 
intense  drama  President  McKinley,  about  to  solve  the  great  mys- 
tery, the  more  fully  realized  the  significance  of  the  awful  moment. 
There  was  no  show  of  fear  in  the  attitude  of  the  nation's  Execu- 
tive. 

INFORMED  HE  WAS  DYING. 

On  the  outside  Mr.  Milburn  explained  to  Mrs.  Kinley  that 
the  President  was  dying,  and  that  he  could  live  till  morning  only 
in  the  event  of  the  direct  interposition  of  Providence.  She  then 
came  to  a  full  realization  of  the  loss  that  was  upon  her,  and  she 
showed  symptoms  of  a  collapse.  Herbert  P.  Bissell  rushed  to 
the  assistance  of  the  sorrowing  wife,  who  was  being  literally  sup- 
ported by  Mr.  Milburn.  Word  was  sent  to  Dr.  Wasdin,  who 
came  from  the  President's  chamber  and  administered  a  restora- 
tive. Little  by  little  she  came  back  to  her  normal  condition. 
Several  women  friends  were  with  her,  and  in  their  sympathy  she 
found  surcease.  To  one  she  whispered  :  "I  will  be  strong  for 
his  sake." 

An  attempt  was  made  to  persuade  Mrs.  McKinley  to  retire 
and  get  some  rest.  $he  refused.  She  said  that  her  duty  was 


LAST  HOURS  OF  THE  PRESIDENT.  266 

there,  and  there  she  would  remain  within  call  of  those  who  were 
with  her  husband.  She  said  that  she  hoped  that  the  President 
would  arouse,  and  she  might  then  have  the  comfort  of  a  last  word 
with  him. 

As  soon  as  it  was  known  that  oxygen  was  being  administered, 
all  knew  that  the  beginning  of  the  end  had  come.  This  bulletin 
was  as  follows : 

"The  President's  physicians  report  that  his  condition  is 
grave  at  this  hour.  He  is  suffering  from  extreme  prostration. 
Oxygen  is  being  used.  He  responds  to  stimulation,  but  poorly." 

As  the  oxygen  had  been  provided  only  as  a  last  resort,  every- 
body understood  that  its  use  meant  that  the  President's  hour  had 
come.  His  condition  was  such  that  there  was  no  hope  of  his 
gaining  strength  through  the  stimulant  sufficient  to  enable  him 
to  combat  death.  After  this  announcement  the  bulletins  telling 
the  story  of  the  final  struggle  followed  each  other  rapidly.  The 
streets  in  front  of  the  bulletin  boards  were  filled  with  men  and 
women  who  watched  sadly  each  fresh  announcement  of  the  nearer 
approach  of  the  end. 

OLD  PASTOR  PRESENT. 

The  Rev.  C.  V.  Wilson,  of  North  Tonawanda,  pastor  of  Mr. 
McKinley's  old  church  in  Canton,  was  with  the  President  and 
prayed  with  him.  Mr.  Wilson  left  the  Milburn  house  shortly 
before  (9  o'clock.  Tears  were  streaming  from  his  eyes,  and  he 
was  almost  completely  overcome  by  grief. 

The  relatives  of  the  dying  President,  the  members  of  his 
Cabinet  and  those  personal  friends  who  were  in  the  house  were 
taking  their  leave  of  him.  After  all  had  seen  Mr.  McKinley, 
the  situation  developed  into  one  of  mere  waiting  for  the  announce- 
ment of  the  President's  death. 

The  last  offices  about  the  bedside  had  been  said,  and  the 
President  had  again  lapsed  into  unconsciousness.  During  his 
conscious  moments  Mrs.  McKinley  was  brought  into  the  chamber, 
and  there  was  an  affecting  farewell.  Members  of  the  Cabinet, 


266  LAST   HOURS   OF  THE   PRESIDENT. 

one  by  one,  saw  the  President  for  a  few  moments.  Then  the 
President  softly  chanted  a  hymn.  Just  before  he  lapsed  into  uncon- 
sciousnes  he  begged  the  doctors  to  let  him  die.  His  last  audible 
words  were,  as  already  stated,  were  said  by  Dr.  Mann  to  be, 
"Good-bye  all,  good-bye.  It  is  God's  way.  Let  His  will,  not 
ours,  be  done." 

The  following  intensely  interesting  account  of  the  President's 
last  moments  is  furnished  by  one  of  the  faithful  female  nurses 
who  watched  over  him  : 

"  The  President  occupied  a  bed  in  the  north  wing  of  the 
Milburn  home,  the  room  formerly  occupied  by  the  Milburn  boys 
before  entering  college.  It  was  simple  in  its  arrangement,  and 
yet  attractive  and  handsome.  Two  beds  of  the  ordinary  hospital 
style  were  located  in  the  room. 

SHOWED  RESTLESSNESS. 

"  Previous  to  the  relapse  suffered  by  the  President  he  had 
become  somewhat  whimsical,  and  had  several  times  asked  that  he 
be  moved  to  a  new  bed,  thus  accounting  for  the  presence  of  the 
two  beds  in  the  room.  A  large  easy-chair  occupied  the  northeast 
corner  of  the  room,  and  when  Mrs.  McKinley  visited  her  husband, 
this  chair  was  drawn  alongside  the  bed  for  her  comfort. 

"The  President  lay  with  the  foot  of  his  bed!  westward, 
thereby  preventing  the  sun  from  shining  in  his  face.  On  the 
west  wall  there  hung  a  large  picture  of  Washington,  a  magnifi- 
cent creation  by  Graves,  and  this  particularly  pleased  the  stricken 
President.  Often  during  his  confinement  I  heard  him  comment 
on  the  picture,  characterizing  Washington  as  a  noble  statesman, 
who  was  created  to  meet  an  emergency. 

"  All  the  nurses  lived  within  easy  calling  distance  of  the 
house,  and  messengers  were  constantly  on  hand  prepared  to  rouse 
them.  None  of  the  medicines  were  either  kept  or  prepared  in  the 
sick  room.  All  this  was  done  in  an  adjoining  room  which  was 
fitted  up  temporarily  for  the  purpose. 

"  It  was  customary  for  the  doctors  to  blend  the  medicines, 
but  the  dressings  were  usually  prepared  by  Miss  McKenzie,  the 


LAST   HOURS  OF  THE   PRESIDENT.  267 

Philadelphia  nurse,  who  was  summoned  a  few  days  before  the 
President  died.  The  corps  of  nurses  was  made  up  of  Steward 
Elliott  and  Privates  Hodgkins  and  Vollmeyer,  of  the  United 
States  Hospital  Corps,  and  Misses  Hunt,  Mohun  and  Connelly, 
the  corps  being  under  the  charge  of  Miss  McKenzie. 

;'The  day  which  brought  the  fatal  relapse  brought  surprise 
to  us  all.  In  the  morning  we  had  lifted  him  from  one  bed  to 
another  at  his  request.  In  his  new  bed  he  seemed  to  rest  very 
easy.  He  turned  without  causing  himself  pain  of  suffering. 
'See  how  I  am  progressing,  doctor,'  he  said  when  Dr.  Was- 
din  came  that  morning,  and  he  turned  from  one  side  to 
another  without  apparent  effort.  The  doctor  smiled  and  assured 
him  that  he  was  progressing  well,  but  advised  him  to  remain 
as  quiet  as  possible. 

TIDY  PERSONAL  HABITS. 

"  Ordinarily  the  President  was  a  man  of  remarkably  clean 
and  tidy  personal  habits,  and  never  was  known  to  pass  from  one 
day  to  another  without  a  shave.  His  beard  grew  very  fast,  and 
naturally,  after  lying  in  bed  almost  a  week  without  shaving,  his 
face  was  very  rough.  He  made  many  comments  on  it  the  day 
that  he  began  to  grow  worse,  and  he  asked  me  when  I  thought  it 
would  be  permissible  to  have  a  barber  shave  him.  He  even  joked 
a  bit  about  it  with  the  doctors  when  they  came. 

"  That  morning  they  gave  him  some  beef  juice,  just  a  little  bit 
at  a  time.  This  he  relished  greatly,  for  his  had  been  a  continuous 
fast  for  a  week.  He  smacked  his  lips  after  the  beef  juice  was 
given  him  and  asked  if  he  could  not  take  more.  This  was  denied 
him,  and  he  was  compelled  to  wait  another  twenty  minutes  before 
taking  more.  Then  he  took  considerable.  He  remained  quiet 
for  some  time,  apparently  satisfied. 

"About  this  time  he  had  occasion  to  speak  of  the  press  and 
how  it  was  treating  his  case.  All  information  was  denied  him, 
and  his  queries  were  turned  aside  in  some  way  or  another.  Then 
he  asked  for  toast  and  coffee.  This  was  |a  serious  problem  and 
occasioned  a  consultation  of  the  doctors.  When  they  returned 


268  LAST   HOURS  OF  THE   PRESIDENT. 

with  the  news  that  he  might  have  the  toast  and  coffee  his  face 
lighted  up  and  he  appeared  to  be  very  grateful. 

"The  toast  and  coffee,  just  a  little  of  each,  was  given  him, 
and  he  ate  it  with  relish  and  turned  on  his  right  side  and  pre- 
pared to  sleep.  His  sleep  lasted  for  several  hours,  and  when  he 
awoke  he  appeared  to  be  greatly  refreshed.  From  that  time, 
however,  the  fatigue  which  eventually  resulted  in  the  relapse  was 
noticeable.  At  3  o'clock  he  was  very  tired,  but  made  no  com- 
plaint that  would  indicate  that  the  food  had  ill  effects. 

"  Later  in  the  afternoon  he  became  somewhat  worse,  and  in 
the  evening,  when  the  usual  night  reaction  came,  he  fared  worse 
than  ever  before.  Grave  apprehensions  were  felt  then,  and  the 
nurses,  including  Miss  McKenzie,  and  the  doctors,  were  all  sum- 
moned. Then  followed  a  series  of  consultations  and  conferences 
which  continued  until  midnight,  when  he  took  a  decided  change 
for  the  worse. 

BRIGHT  AND  CHEERY. 

"  It  has  been  said  that  the  President  was  in  a  stupor  at  this 
time.  That  is  not  true.  The  patient  was  as  bright  and  cheery 
as  could  possibly  be  expected,  and  occasionally  conversed  in  a 
low  tone.  He  was  somewhat  tired,  however,  and  seldom  moved 
in  bed.  As  morning  approached  he  became  worse.  The  bulletins 
given  out  from  time  to  time  during  the  morning  hours  describing 
his  condition  were  absolutely  correct.  It  was  a  gradual  decline. 
Friday  morning  Mrs.  McKinley  made  her  usual  visit  to  the  sick 
room.  The  President  knew  he  was  worse,  and  here  again  his 
first  thoughts  were  of  his  helpmate.  It  would  worry  her. 

"  He  summoned  one  of  the  doctors,  Dr.  Wasdin,  I  believe, 
and  asked  that  the  truth  of  his  condition  be  kept  from  her.  This 
was  a  difficult  proposition,  however,  as  Mrs.  McKinley  had 
watched  his  condition  closely,  and  quickly  detected  the  smallest 
and  most  insignificant  change.  Then  he  offered  to  co-operate  in 
keeping  the  news  from  her.  He  gathered  all  his  strength 
together,  and  made  a  herculean  effort  to  allay  any  suspicions  she 
might  have.  He  succeeded  admirably,  and  she  left  the  room 


LAST  HOURS  OF  THE   PRESIDENT.  269 

after  ten  minutes  with  her  husband  in  the  belief  that  he  was  at 
least  holding  his  own. 

"  When  she  left  he  lapsed  into  the  state  which  characterized 
the  very  early  morning.  He  was  not  in  a  stupor,  however,  and 
recognized  everybody.  The  morning  was  marked  by  frequent 
consul ations  and  conferences,  and  nearly  all  of  them  were  followed 
by  bulletins  on  the  President's  condition.  Dr.  Rixey  was  the 
prime  figure  in  nearly  all  these  conferences,  yet  he  would  take 
no  step  without  the  consent  of  the  other  physicians.  Late  in  the 
afternoon  it  became  apparent  that  the  President  was  not  to  last 
for  long,  his  life  was  slowly  ebbing  away. 

Slowly,  but  surely,  the  sands  in  President  McKinley's  life 
glasss  were  dropping  away.  No  person  made  that  statement 
about  the  house  at  this  time,  but  the  very  atmosphere  seemed  to 
contain  something  that  said  plainly  that  the  President  was  pass- 
ing away.  About  4  o'clock  his  pulsation  became  so  alarming  that 
saline  solution  injections  were  resorted  to.  This  had  the  effect  of 
buoying  up  hopes  for  a  time,  just  for  a  short  time,  however,  and 
then  he  suffered  a  slight  change  for  the  worse  again. 

NO  RESPONSE  TO  TREATMENT. 

"  At  this  time  he  was  in  a  stupor.  I  went  to  his  bedside  and 
touched  his  lips  with  water,  but  there  was  no  response  either  by 
sign  or  action.  He  appeared  to  be  conscious  and  yet  unconscious. 
He  knew  none  of  us.  Every  one  considered  the  case  hopeless, 
and  knew  that  it  was  but  a  question  of  vitality  ;  that  he  must  soon 
die.  As  the  hour  of  9  o'clock  approached  his  condition  became 
rapidly  worse,  and  I  have  since  learned  that  even  in  the  house  the 
report  was  circulated  that  the  President  was  dying. 

"  At  this  time  it  was  deemed  advisable  to  bring  the  family  to 
the  death  chamber.  They  came  one  at  a  time.  First  came  the 
members  of  the  Cabinet  singly,  glanced  at  their  dying  chief  and 
passed  on.  Tears  were  in  the  eyes  of  all  of  them.  Then  came 
Abner  McKinley  and  his  wife  and  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Baer,  the  latter 
a  niece  of  the  President.  They  remained  only  a  minute  and 
passed  on  out  of  the  room.  Then  came  Senator  Hanna,  the  dearest 


270  LAST   HOURS   OF   THE   PRESIDENT. 

friend  the  President  ever  had.  He,  too,  was  to  be  denied  by  death 
the  joy  of  recognition. 

"  Then  Mrs.  McKinley  came — poor,  brave  little  woman. 

"  The  easy  chair  was  drawn  close  to  the  bedside,  and  she  was 
seated  there.  The  President's  face  lighted  up.  He  recognized 
her,  and  it  seemed  as  if  the  nurses  and  doctors  would  burst  into 
tears.  She  took  his  hand,  the  hand  which  in  one  short  week  had 
become  emaciated  and  thin,  and  held  it. 

"  His  face  lighted  up  and  he  murmured:  'God's  will,  not 
ours,  be  done.' 

"To  my  knowledge  these  were  the  last  words  the  President 
ever  uttered. 

WAS  LED  AWAY  WEEPING. 

"  Mrs.  McKinley  remained  with  him  for  a  half  hour  and  was 
then  led,  weeping,  from  the  room.  The  President  had  lapsed 
into  the  sleep  which  knows  no  awakening.  He  was  wholly 
unconscious.  Once,  near  n  o'clock,  I  thought  I  saw  him  move 
and  try  to  say  something,  but  it  was  not  audible.  At  11.15 
o'clock  Mrs.  McKinley  came  again  and  this  time  remained  with 
her  dying  husband  for  an  hour.  She  said  nothing  and  the  Presi- 
dent lay  like  one  who  had  passed  the  river  of  death. 

"  The  extremities  were  becoming  cold  and  the  pulse  was  so 
faint  that  it  could  not  be  recorded  by  the  most  sensitive  instru- 
ments. After  an  hour's  time  Mrs.  McKinley  was  led  away  to 
her  room.  It  was  the  last  time  she  would  ever  see  her  husband 
alive.  For  the  next  two  hours  his  condition  became  worse,  if 
.such  a  thing  were  possible,  and  it  seemed  several  times  as  if  he 
must  be  dead. 

"  Application  of  the  instruments  which  record  the  respira- 
tion, however,  showed  that  he  was  still  breathing.  At  2. 15  o'clock 
he  died. 

"  Dr.  Rixey  thought  best  to  wait  a  few  minutes  before  giving 
out  the  bulletin,  to  make  sure  that  the  vital  spark  had  left  the 
body.  He  applied  the  apparatus  and  the  dial  remained  unmoved. 
He  was  dead. 


LAST   HOURS  OF  THE   PRESIDENT.  271 

"  The  undertaker  came  and  laid  out  the  body  on  the  bed  on 
which  it  had  lain  for  a  week.  The  hands  were  folded  across  the 
breast,  and  a  sheet  was  drawn  over  the  face.  Private  Hodgins, 
of  the  Hospital  Corps,  was  detailed  to  guard  the  body,  and 
throughout  the  remainder  of  the  night  he  stood  at  attention  at 
the  foot  of  the  bed.  At  5.30  o'clock  he  was  relieved  by  Private 
Voltmeyer,  of  the  same  branch  of  the  service." 


CHAPTER  XIV. 

Additional  Account  of  President  McKinley's  Death — Hope 
Ending  in  Despair — Medical  Skill  Exhausted — Cause  of 
the  Final  Relapse. 

The  President's  last  day,  which  ended  in  despair,  was  begun 
in  hope.  The  ills  that  came  on  Thursday  afternoon,  when  the 
organs  of  digestion  refused  to  handle  the  solid  food  that  had  been 
taken  earlier  in  the  day,  had  seemingly  been  overcome  by  mid- 
night, and  when  the  new  day  came  it  found  the  President 
relieved  and  resting.  Hope  that  had  suddenly  dropped  from  the 
high  place  which  it  had  held,  began  to  revive.  The  healing  of 
the  wounds  had  progressed  favorably,  general  conditions  were  in 
the  main  quite  satisfactory,  and  the  immediate  future  of  the 
case  seemed  to  hold  no  threat. 

The  physicians  who  had  been  in  almost  constant  attendance 
during  the  night  parted,  and  the  watch  in  the  sick  room  was 
reduced.  Suddenly  there  was  a  failure  of  the  heart,  which,  for 
several  days  had  been  manifesting  signs  of  weakness,  and  the 
President  sank  toward  unconsciousness.  This  was  at  two 
o'clock  in  the  morning.  There  was  an  immediate  application  of 
restoratives,  and  a  general  call  went  out  to  the  absent  physicians 
and  nurses.  Digitalis,  strychnia  and  saline  solution  were  admin- 
istered to  the  patient,  but  there  was  no  immediate  response  to 
treatment. 

The  physicians  admitted  that  he  was  desperately  ill,  and 
Secretary  Cortelyou  decided  to  send  for  the  relatives  and  close 
friends  of  the  President,  the  Vice-President  and  members  of  the 
Cabinet.  Those  within  reach  were  called  by  telephone  or  mes- 
senger, and  telegrams  were  rushed  to  those  who  had  left  the  city. 
The  first  of  the  messages  went  out  at  2.30  o'clock,  and  within 
half  an  hour  the  Milburn  house  began  to  fill  again.  The  serious 
condition  of  the  President  and  the  general  call  sent  out  gave  rise 
to  a  general  feeling  of  alarm  that  was  never  again  allayed. 

272 


HOPE   ENDING   IN  DESPAIR.  273 

Desperate  measures  were  resorted  to  in  order  to  stimulate 
trie  heart,  and  the  sinking  spell  was  over  by  four  o'clock.  It  was 
decided  to  continue  the  treatment,  and  the  physicians  laid  their 
greatest  hope  on  weathering  the  day.  It  was  agreed  that  if  the 
wounded  man  could  be  carried  for  twenty-four  hours  that  his 
chances  would  be  very  favorable,  for  the  wounds  were  healing 
splendidly. 

It  was  decided  to  summon  Dr.  W.  W.  Johnston,  of  Washing- 
ton, and  Dr.  E.  G.  Janeway,  of  New  York,  heart  specialists,  and 
telegrams  were  hurried  out  asking  that  they  come  at  once.  Before 
dawn  a  dozen  of  the  relatives  and  friends  of  the  President  arrived 
at  the  Milburn  house.  They  assembled  in  the  drawing  room,  where 
they  waited  for  tidings  from  the  sick  room  above  them.  The 
physicians  assured  them  that  the  President  had  a  fighting  chance 
for  life  and  to  the  hope  that  in  the  end  victory  would  be  his,  they 
clung  all  day. 

PROFOUND  GRIEF  AND  HORROR. 

Hundreds  of  visitors  came  during  the  morning,  and  if  the  police 
had  not  kept  the  streets  clear  and  barred  entrance  to  Delaware 
avenue  there  would  have  been  thousands.  Senator  Hanna,  a  close 
personal  and  political  friend  of  the  President,  hurried  up  from 
Cleveland  by  special  train.  Other  friends  arrived  by  regular 
trains,  and  all  through  the  day  they  came  in  increasing  numbers. 
Their  regret  and  sympathy  were  profound.  The  day  developed 
but  little  encouragement  for  them,  however. 

During  the  forenoon  the  President  made  a  slight  gain  of 
strength,  and  held  it  well  into  the  afternoon.  His  physicians 
announced  that  they  had  again  given  him  nourishment,  and  it 
was  thought  that  possibly  there  was  a  chance  for  a  further  gain 
of  strength.  It  was  known,  however,  that  he  was  in  a  very 
serious  state,  and  every  interest  was  centred  in  the  sick  room  in 
".he  Milburn  house,  where  the  struggle  was  in  progress. 

Suddenly,  at  5  o'clock  in  the  afternoon,  there  was  a  repetition 
of  the  heart  attack,  and  those  in  the  presence  of  the  stricken  man 
knew  that  the  end  was  at  hand.  This  knowledge  soon  spread  to 

18 


274  HOPE   ENDING    IN   DESPAIR. 

the  street,  and  the  waiting  newspaper  men  bulletined  it  to  the 
world.  Every  one  who  came  from  the  house  was  besought  for  an 
expression  as  to  the  state  of  the  President.  Bach  succeeding 
report  was  worse  than  its  predecessor,  and  the  official  bulletins 
were  absolutely  without  hope. 

The  following  account  of  the  impending  calamity  is  from  the 
pen  of  a  correspondent  who  was  at  tho  ]\  a.  burn  house  :  "  Since  five 
o'clock  this  afternoon  President  M-Kinley  has  made  a  brave  but 
hopeless  fight  -..gainst  aeath.  His  physicians  said  early  in  the 
day  that  he  had  a  fighting  chance,  and  the  President  made  the 
most  of  it.  He  lay  limp  and  nearly  liieless  all  day,  and  hardly 
conscious  of  the  rresence  of  physicians,  who  were  expending  all 
the  resources  of  their  profession  to  preserve  the  vital  spark.  All 
ordinary  expedients  failing,  desperate  means  were  resorted  to. 
Oxygen  was  administered  to  keep  up  respiration.  Powerful 
stimulants  were  employed  to  aid  the  action  of  the  heart.  There 
was  an  early  response  to  these  extreme  methods,  but,  after  a 
time,  collapse  came,  and  with  it  the  announcement  that  the  Presi- 
dent was  dying. 

FAILURE  OF  VITAL  ORGANS. 

"The  President's  relapse  is  admittedly  the  result  of  the 
failure  of  his  digestive  organs  to  assimilate  the  food  which  he  ate 
yesterday.  Important  bodily  functions  became  impaired.  The 
result  was  loss  of  the  previous  gains  that  had  given  the  doctors  so 
much  hope  of  the  ultimate  outcome  of  the  gallant  struggle  for 
life.  It  became  absolutely  essential  to  relieve  the  President's 
distress,  which  was  threatening  and  immediate.  Calomel  was 
resorted  to.  It  was  administered  in  a  small  dose,  under  the 
direction  of  Dr.  Stockton.  With  it,  drugs  calculated  to  stimulate 
the  heart  were  also  administered. 

"  The  calomel,  after  hours  of  anxious  observation  on  the  part 
of  the  attending  doctors,  operated  as  they  hoped,  but  with  a 
result  that  was  distressing  to  the  President.  He  thereafter  became 
weaker  and  more  helpless.  He  acted  as  if  he  had  undergone  a 
strain  that  had  fearfully  impaired  his  slendei  store  of  vitality. 


HOPE    ENDING    IN   DESPAIR.  276 

Hope  was  abandoned  early  in  the   evening,  although  the  physi- 
cians kept  up  the  endeavors  to  prolong  his  life. 

l<  'The  President  was  unconscious  up  to  7.20  o'clock.  He  then 
came  tc  and  asked  for  Mrs.  McKinley,  who  was  waiting  to  be 
admitted  to  the  chamber.  He  recognized  her,  but  a  few  moments 
later  became  unconscious.  Digitalis  and  strychnine  were  losing 
their  potency  as  heart  stimulants,  and  saline  solution  was  no 
longer  efficacious.  Artificial  respiration  was  promoted  with  the 
aid  of  oxygen,  and  life  and  breath  were  literally  being  pumped 
into  the  President.  Mrs.  McKinley  continued  with  him,  praying 
for  the  success  of  these  experiments,  but  with  her  hopes  well  nigh 
exhausted. 

RELATIVES  AND  FRIENDS  ADMITTED. 

"  When  the  physicians  decided  there  was  no  hope  for  the 
President,  the  relatives  and  intimate  friends  waiting  in  the  draw- 
ing room  below  were  admitted  one  by  one  to  faintly  grasp  the 
hand  of  the  President  in  a  silent  farewell.  None  of  these  was 
recognized  by  the  President  Senator  Hanna,  whose  grief  won 
the  respect  of  all,  held  the  nerveless  fingers  of  the  President  and 
looked  vainly  into  his  eyes  for  a  sigh  of  recognition. 

"  All  this  time  the  doctors  were  spending  their  efforts  on  the 
President,  determined  to  fight  the  battle  to  the  end.  Dr.  Charles 
McBurney,  who  had  come  post-haste  to  the  President's  bedside, 
arrived  too  late  to  be  of  service,  and  could  only  approve  of  the 
methods  being  used  by  the  other  physicians.  Senator  Depew, 
Secretary  Root,  Senator  Fairbanks  and  Secretaries  Wilson  and 
Hitchcock  called  at  the  house  through  the  evening,  but  received 
not  a  glimmer  of  hope.  A  little  before  10  o'clock  it  was  observed 
that  the  President's  extremities  were  growing  cold,  while  his 
pulse  was  fluttering  and  his  respiration  was  irregular  and  forced. 
Reports  from  those  leaving  the  house  continued  unfavorable. 

"When  Dr.  Mynter  came  out,  at  11.30  o'clock,  he  said  the 
end  was  very  near,  although  he  might  live  an  hour.  The  doctors 
had  practically  abandoned  the  exhausting  effort  to  maintain  life. 
Nc  more  powerful  stimulants  were,  administered,  and  death  was 
allowed  tc  take  its  progress  But  the  President  held  on  teua- 


276  HOPE  ENDING   IN    DESPAIR. 

ciously.  Bach  new  statement  from  the  house  said  he  could  live 
but  a  few  minutes,  but  the  President  continued  to  breathe.  *  He 
is  alive,  that  is  all,'  was  the  word  sent  out  by  Secretary  Cortelyou 
at  midnight." 

From  authoritative  officials  the  following  details  of  the  final 
scenes  in  and  about  the  death  chamber  were  secured :  The 
President  liad  continued  in  an  unconscious  state  since  8.30  P.  M. 
Dr.  Rixey  remained  with  him  at  all  times  and  until  death  came. 
The  other  doctors  were  in  the  room  at  times,  and  then  repaired  to 
the  front  room,  where  their  consultations  had  been  held.  About 
2  o'clock  Dr.  Rixey  noted  the  unmistakable  signs  of  dissolution, 
and  the  immediate  members  of  the  family  were  summoned  to  the 

bedside. 

SILENCE   AND  SADNESS. 

Silently  and  sadly  the  members  of  the  family  stole  into  the 
room.  They  stood  about  the  foot  and  sides  of  the  bed  where  the 
great  man's  life  was  ebbing  away.  Those  in  the  circle  were  : 

Abner  McKinley,  the  President's  brother ;  Mrs.  Abner 
McKinley,  Miss  Helen,  the  President's  sister ;  Miss  Barber,  a 
niece,  Miss  Sarah  Duncan,  Lieutenant  J.  F.  McKinley,  a  nephew  ; 
William  M.  Duncan,  a  nephew ;  Hon.  Charles  G.  Dawes,  the 
Comptroller  of  the  Currency ;  F.  M.  Osborn,  a  cousin  ;  Colonel 
Webb  C.  Hayes  ;  John  Barber,  a  nephew ;  Secretary  George  B. 
Cortelyou ;  Colonel  W.  C.  Brown,  the  business  partner  of  Abner 
McKinley  ;  Dr.  P.  M.  Rixey,  the  family  physician,  and  six  nurses 
and  attendants.  In  an  adjoining  room  sat  the  physicians, 
including  Drs.  McBurney,  Wasdin,  Park,  Stockton  and  Mynter. 

It  was  now  2.05  o'clock,  and  the  minutes  were  slipping  away. 
Only  the  sobs  of  those  in  the  circle  about  the  President's  bedside 
broke  the  awe-like  silence.  Five  minutes  passed,  then  six,  seven, 
eight. 

Now  Dr.  Rixey  bent  forward,  and  then  one  of  his  hands  was 
raised  as  if  in  warning.  The  fluttering  heart  was  just  going  to 
rest.  A  moment  more  and  Dr.  Rixey  straightened  up,  and  with 
choking  voice,  said  :  "  The  President  is  dead." 

Secretary  Cortelyou  was  the  first  to  turn  from  the  stricken 


HOPE   ENDING   IN  DESPAIR.  277 

circle.  He  stepped  from  the  chamber  to  the  outer  hall  and  then 
down  the  stairway  to  the  large  room,  where  the  members  of  the 
Cabinet,  Senators  and  distinguished  officials  were  assembled.  As 
his  tense,  white  face  appeared  at  the  doorway,  a  hush  fell  upon 
the  assemblage.  "  Gentlemen,  the  President  has  passed  away," 
he  said. 

For  a  moment  not  a  word  came  in  reply.  Even  though  the 
end  had  been  expected  the  actual  announcement  that  William 
McKinley  was  dead  fairly  stunned  these  men,  who  had  been 
his  closest  confidants  and  advisers.  Then  a  groan  of  anguish 
went  up  from  the  assembled  officials.  They  cried  outright  like 
children.  All  the  pent  up  emotions  of  the  last  few  days  were 
let  loose.  They  turned  from  the  room  and  came  from  the  house 
with  streaming  eyes. 

CAME  AS  A  TERRIBLE  SURPRISE. 

The  city,  not  only  in  those  parts  near  the  Milburn  house, 
but  all  over,  and  even  out  in  the  Exposition  grounds,  went  into  a 
state  of  ferment  when  the  news  of  the  sudden  collapse  of  the 
President  was  announced.  The  ill  news  of  the  early  day  had 
been  somewhat  softened  by  the  later  afternoon  announcement 
that  there  was  a  slight  improvement,  and  the  sudden  announce- 
ment of  his  approaching  dissolution  came  as  a  great  surprise. 

Up  about  the  corners,  near  the  Milburn  house,  was  a  pic_ 
turesque  but  rather  gruesome  scene,  when  it  is  remembered  that 
the  crowds  gathered  there  were  awaiting  the  President's  death. 
The  half  dozen  tents  and  the  two  big  election  booths  made  it  look 
like  the  midway  of  a  fair,  but  the  ropes  that  were  stretched  from 
corner  to  corner,  the  solemn  looking  police  guard,  the  pacing 
soldiers,  and,  above  all,  the  quietness  of  the  assembled  multitude, 
bore  witness  to  the  solemnity  of  the  occasion. 

The  Milburn  house  was  hardly  discernible  among  the  trees, 
the  lights  in  the  house  having  been  dimmed ;  but  at  a  few 
minutes'  intervals  there  would  come  out  some  person  who  had 
information  to  bear,  and  then  the  eager  crowd  would  surround 
him.  But  from  the  time  that  Secretary  Cortelyou  told  that  the 


278  HOPE   ENDING   IN   DESPAIR. 

President  was  very  weak,  there  was  nothing  to  encourage  a  belief 
that  there  could  be  a  recovery. 

A  further  description  of  the  solemn  scene  is  from  an  eye- 
witness and  is  as  follows  : 

"  Once  more  the  muffled  drums  are  beating  for  a  murdered 
President.  The  piteous  half-masted  flag  again  hangs  mournfully 
above  the  housetops  for  the  man  chosen  of  the  people,  who  has 
been  stricken  down  by  an  assassin.  Men  and  women  in  the 
streets  of  Buffalo,  in  the  cars  and  in  their  hotels  and  homes  mutter 
this  thing  and  lapse  into  mute  wonder  that  it  can  be  so. 

"Our  people  are  not  given  to  vociferations.  As  they  went 
about  their  aifairs  to-day,  clad  in  light  colors — the  women  at  least 
— one  could  but  faintly  guess  the  self-respecting  sorrow  at  their 
hearts,  which  would  seem  to  call  for  sombre  black,  if  color  can  be 
emblematic  of  grief.  But  the  deep  grief  was  there.  A  word  to 
one  of  them  brought  the  emotion  to  the  surface.  So  I  have  seen 
tears  well  up  and  trickle  down  manly  faces  and  brows  knit  closely 
and  hands  clutched  ominously,  for  the  President  was  dead. 

THE  WORLD  KNEW  IT, 

"  All  the  world  knew  it  now.    The  world  could  and  did  share 
their   sorrow,   but  that  did  not  lighten  the  load  of  sorrow  upon 
William  McKinley's  fellow  citizens  here.    Anger  was  strong  that 
their  President  had  been    shot   down — an   anger   that   no  mere 
wreaking  of  venegeance  on  the  wretched  murderer  could  satisfy, 
but  their  tenderest  pity,  sympathy  and  love  was  for  the  man  so 
'  Rich  in  saving  common  sense, 
And,  as  the  greatest  only  are, 

In  his  simplicity  sublime.' 

"Herein  it  was  that  though  the  busy  city,  shocked  to  the 
core,  paused  not  in  its  daily  round,  all  hearts  were  beating  with 
the  muffled  drums  for  the  murdered  President,  for  the  beloved 
man  stricken,  like  Lincoln  and  like  Garfield,  in  the  rich  moment 
of  a  nation's  trust  and  at  the  pinnacle  of  a  nation's  power,  and 
beating  as  well  for  the  widowed  woman  sitting  in  a  daze  of  grief 
in  the  room  where  the  southern  sun  was  sending  light  that 


HOPE   ENDING   IN   DESPAIR.  279 

brought  110  comfort  and  warmth  that  could  master  the  chill  upon 
him  at  rest  in  the  room  near  by. 

"  So  the  gray  morning  dawned  on  Buffalo.  All  the  watchers 
were  weary  at  the  Milburn  house,  and  most  of  them  were  sleep- 
ing, for  now  vigil  would  not  avail.  Like  all  the  houses  on  either 
side  of  Delaware  avenue,  the  house  stands  apart  from  its  neigh- 
bors, with  a  strip  of  verdant  lawn  between  it  and  the  sidewalk  of 
the  elm  and  maple  shaded  street.  There  are  finer  houses  on  the 
avenue — which  is  the  avenue  of  such  elegance  as  Buffalo  knows 
— a  fine  dignified  highway,  bespeaking  wealth  and  refinement  in 
its  dwellers,  and  marking  the  various  architectural  steps  in  the 
succession  of  builders. 

HOUSE  WHERE  HE  DIED. 

"The  Milburn  house,  with  its  ivy-clad  porch,  its  pointed 
gables,  and  wings  painted  in  sober  brownish  gray  where  the  ivy 
is  not  clambering,  would  not  be  distinguished  from  a  hundred 
like  it ;  but  in  this  world  of  mystery — that  is,  of  things  happen- 
ing which  we  fail  fully  to  understand — it  had  become  perforce  the 
spot  most  to  be  regarded  in  the  world  to-da}^,  and  for  a  day 
to  come.  After  that  the  scene  will  shift  to  other  places,  as  in  the 
way  of  the  world  of  change. 

"  You  have  been  told  of  the  way  the  house  is,  and  has  been, 
guarded  since  the  fateful  Friday  at  the  Exposition,  a  mile  or  so 
away — the  avenues  and  the  cross  streets  roped  off;  of  police- 
men guarding  the  ropes  and  soldier  sentinels  pacing  up  and 
down  upon  the  green  sward  immediately  surrounding  the  house  ; 
at  the  rope  barriers,  silent,  whispering  groups,  waiting  a  word 
from  those  within. 

"Add  the  coming  of  night  to  that,  the  lights  beginning  to 
show  faintly  in  the  house,  and  fear  on  the  faces  of  all  who  come 
and  go  upon  the  threshold.  Step  by  step  the  way  the  grim  battle 
was  going  was  known  to  those  without — the  turn  for  the  worse  of 
the  night  before  ;  the  heroic  measures  taken  to  whip  up  the  tired 
out  heart  of  the  patient. 

"  It  has  been  a  day  of  gloom  around  the  Milburn  house.    In 


280  HOPE   ENDING  IN    DESPAIR. 

) 

dignified  silence  many  of  the  great  men  of  the  country  have 
entered  the  house  of  death,  and  in  silence  passed  out  of  it.  The 
tense  excitement  and  awful  suspense  of  the  preceding  twenty- 
four  hours  were  followed  to-day  by  a  peace  and  quiet  expressive 
of  the  nation's  mourning.  American  flags  were  early  draped  on 
the  front  of  the  house,  but  otherwise  there  was  no  evidence  of 
mourning  except  in  the  sad  hearts  and  faces  of  the  hundreds  who 
called  to  pay  their  respects. 

"  On  the  lawns  of  the  Milburn  house  the  guards  paced  silently 
to  and  fro,  while  policemen  kept  back  the  crowds  that  pressed 
thick  against  the  ropes  which  a  block  away  cut  off  access  to  the 
streets  leading  to  the  house  where  the  body  of  the  martyred  Presi- 
dent lies.  By  four  o'clock  this  morning  the  nerve  racking  ten- 
sion of  those  who  for  a  day  and  a  night  had  watched  near  the 
bedside  of  the  dying  President,  awaiting  the  announcement  that 
the  end  had  come,  gave  way  to  calmness  and  resignation,  and 
only  a  few  of  the  newspaper  men  and  the  telegraph  operators 
remained  at  the  corner  which  a  few  hours  before  had  been  so 
thronged.  While  the  telegraph  keys  clicked  off  the  details  of  one 
of  the  saddest  deaths  in  history  the  darkness  slowly  melted  into 
dawn  and  another  day  was  ushered  in. 

SHOWING  REMARKABLE  FORTITUDE. 

''After  the  Milburn  house  became  quiet  at  five  o'clock  this 
morning  the  first  word  was  brought  out  by  Miss  Duncan,  who 
said  Mrs.  McKinley  was  bearing  up  bravely.  The  undertakers 
were  then  in  the  house  and  Secretary  Cortelyou  was  sleeping. 
Since  Mr.  McKinley  was  shot  he  had  previously  had  only  eight 
hours  sl^ep. 

"  Miss  Helen  McKinley,  Miss  Mary  Barber  and  Mrs.  Lafay- 
ette McWilliams  were  the  first  callers.  Lieutenant  James 
McKinley  followed,  and  then  Mrs.  Garret  A.  Hobart  arrived.  In 
a  few  minutes  Mrs.  McWilliams  came  out  of  the  house,  and  as  she 
stepped  into  her  carnage  she  said  :  l  Mrs.  McKinley  is  resting 
quietly.  She  realized  long  before  many  others  what  the  outcome 
might  be,  and  during  the  last  few  days  had  prepared  herself.' 


HOPE  ENDING  IN  DESPAIR.  281 

"  Secretaries  Wilson,  Hitchcock,  Root  and  Smith,  and  Attor- 
ney-General Knox  arrived  at  half-past  ten  o'clock,  and  a  few 
minutes  later  Senator  Hanna,  Senator  Burrows,  Colonel  Herrick 
and  former  Judge  Day  came  up,  The  Cabinet  at  once  went  into 
session  in  the  library,  and  invited  Senator  Hanna,  Colonel  Herrick 
and  Judge  Day  to  join  in  their  deliberations. 

"  The  scene  in  the  vicinity  of  the  Milburn  house  at  midnight, 
the  last  midnight  that  William  McKinley  was  to  see  for  ever- 
more, was  weirdly  pathetic.  It  was  intensely  dark  with  a  thin 
mist  in  the  air,  arising  above  the  tree  tops  and  making  the 
electric  lights  blind  and  glimmer  uncanny.  In  the  tents  and 
election  booths  devoted  to  the  newspaper  correspondents  and 
telegraph  operators  the  light  shone  brightly,  throwing  the 
shadows  of  the  workers  in  sable  silhouette  against  the  gleaming 
whiteness  of  the  tents.  Under  the  dark  foliage  of  the  arching 
trees  on  Delaware  avenue  the  gleam  of  a  sentry's  gun  flashed 
now  and  then  as  the  noiseless  figure  in  blue  came  and  went  like 
a  ghost" 

GRIM  SENTINELS  IN   BLACK. 

Stretching  away  to  the  west  along  Ferry  street,  was  a  row 
of  yellow  lights  from  carriage  lamps  where  automobiles  stood  like 
grim  sentinels  in  black,  waiting  to  bear  the  darkest  tidings  to 
the  country  that  it  has  heard  in  two  score  years.  Just  within  the 
confining  limits  of  a  cable  that  gleamed  like  a  streak  of  saffron 
under  the  electric  light,  a  policeman  paced  to  and  fro,  pausing 
now  and  then  to  say  a  few  words  in  an  undertone  to  the  groups 
of  waiting,  restless,  whispering  correspondents,  who  either  lined 
up  against  the  rope  or  else  conversed  in  groups  in  the  street 
rapidly  disintegrating  to  surround  the  latest  comer  from  the  house 
that  was  covered  not  only  by  the  blackness  of  the  night  but  by 
the  shadow  of  impending  death. 

Absolute  silence  reigned  within  the  cordon  established  a 
week  ago  by  the  police.  At  all  the  intersecting  streets  two 
squares  away  hundreds  of  people,  men  and  women,  some  on 
wheels,  others  in  carriages,  hundreds  on  foot,  stood  silently 


282  HOl'E   ENDING   IN    DESPAIR. 

waiting  news  from  where  the  pale  lights  glimmered  in  the  house 
of  death.  Bvery  comer  from  that  direction  was  held  up  and  ques- 
tioned by  the  obliging  policeman,  while  everyone  stood  on  tip-toe 
and  listened  with  bated  breath  for  the  details. 

The  coming  and  going  of  notables  occupied  the  attention  of 
the  newspaper  men,  and  furnished  bulletins  for  the  waiting  world. 
Over  in  the  telegraph  booths  some  of  the  correspondents  who  had 
been  on  duty  for  forty  hours  almost  constant^,  tried  to  get  a  few 
winks  of  sleep  in  hard,  uncomfortable  chairs.  Messenger  boys 
lay  prone  on  the  floors  of  the  booths  and  slept  the  sleep  of 
exhaustion.  Scattered  through  the  crowds  of  correspondents 
outside  were  secret  service  men  and  plain  clothes  detectives. 
Just  what  they  were  doing  no  one  seemed  able  to  fathom. 

A  NIGHT  TO  BE  REMEMBERED. 

Thus  the  dreary  hours  dragged  on  till  midnight  and  after. 
Word  came  that  newsboys  down  town  were  calling  extras  that 
the  President  was  dead.  Then  the  police  began  moving  a  crowd 
of  morbidly  curious  women  and  their  escorts  who  had  crowded 
around  the  telegraph  booth.  Tired  messenger  boys  were  roused 
from  their  sleep  and  sent  skurrying  down  town  with  bunches  of 
"specials"  as  fast  as  bicycles  could  go  under  the  pressure  of 
wearied  legs.  Some  kind  soul  with  the  spirit  of  a  Samaritan  sent 
in  some  refreshments  in  liquid  form  to  the  fagged  operators  and 
tired  correspondents. 

There  was  a  lull  for  ten  minutes,  the  telegraph  instruments 
clicked  out  noisily  with  strident  sounds  in  the  chill  darkness. 
Somebody  who  had  been  there  began  drooning  a  story  of  San- 
tiago and  Schley,  and  the  next  instant,  like  a  hurricane,  a  squad 
of  breathless  men  burst  into  the  postal  booth.  There  was  a 
murmur  of  "dead,"  a  scurrying  grab  for  copy  paper,  and  a  dozen 
hands  were  writing  the  culmination  of  the  story. 

"Coroner  Wilson  has  just  gone  into  Milburns  ;  he  was  sum- 
moned at  12. 10,"  exclaimed  someone.  Then  there  was  a  break 
from  the  booth  to  where  a  little  knot  gathered  at  the  ropes  and 
under  the  trees.  Before  half  the  correspondents  could  get  across 


HOPE  ENDING  IN    DESPAIR.  283 

the  street  two  figures,  one  that  of  Coroner  Wilson,  the  other  of 
Harry  Hamlin,  disappeared  under  the  trees  toward  the  house. 

"Stop  it!  Stop  it!"  came  a  sharp  imperious  voice.  "Kill 
that  bulletin.  He  is  not  dead.  Dr.  Mann  says  he  is  still  alive, 
and  that  Janeway  is  conducting  an  examination."  It  was  a 
Washington  correspondent,  of  national  fame  and  wide  experience 
who  uttered  the  words. 

A  hasty  investigation  revealed  the  truth  of  his  announce- 
ment, and  then  the  bulletins  were  recalled.  The  President  still 
lived. 

Down  in  the  heart  of  the  city  a  different  scene  was  being 
enacted.  There  all  was  life  and  bustle,  excitement,  execration, 
anxiety  ;  every  newspaper  office  had  a  thousand  men  and  women 
about  it.  Five-minute  bulletins  were  posted  as  received  by  tele- 
phone. 

STREETS  PACKED  WITH  PEOPLE. 

Downtown,  Main  street  was  a  human  hive.  Crowds  as  great 
as  any  which  have  filled  the  streets  in  noontide  packed  the  side- 
walks and  made  passing  of  street  cars  almost  impossible.  Women 
were  almost  as  numerous  as  men.  Here  again  police  precaution 
was  evident,  mounted  police,  the  entire  service,  rode  up  and 
down,  pushed  over  toward  the  pavement,  and  kept  the  roadway 
clear,  and  the  throngs  on  the  street  moving.  It  was  a  queer 
sight  this  thing  of  mounted  police  in  the  heart  of  the  city. 

Then  above  the  clang  of  car  gongs  and  the  hoarse  cries  of 
fakirs  already  on  the  streets  with  "souvenirs"  of  the  assassin, 
came  the  shrill  resonant  cries  of  the  newsboys  calling  a  midnight 
extra.  "The  death  of  McKinley."  It  was  a  fake  to  be  sure, but 
it  caught,  and  though  the  President  was  still  this  side  of  the  Dark 
River  the  cruel  enterprise  of  the  newsmonger  had  him  robed  for 
the  grave. 

Rumors  were  thick,  every  other  man  on  the  street  had  a 
fresh  one  and  the  latest  was  no  worse  than  the  first.  Curious 
crowds,  mostly  women,  gathered  around  the  telegraph  offices  and 
craned  their  necks  to  watch  the  weary  operators  and  hurrying 
correspondents  at  their  work.  It  was  all  unnatural,  strange, 


284  HOPE   ENDING   IN    DESPAIR. 

almost  incomprehensible.  To  this  crowd  on  the  street  was  added 
from  time  to  time  groups  recruited  from  the  arriving  trains,  gap- 
ing yokels  with  lunch  for  three  days  in  a  splint  basket,  trim 
tourists  and  the  canaille  of  the  curb.  It  was  believed  to  be  the 
President's  death  night,  and  all  were  eager,  sympathetically  eager 
for  the  latest  facts. 

Another  authority,  who  had  a  full  knowledge  of  the  situa- 
tion, made  the  following  statement : 

"President  McKinley  never  had  one  chance  to  recover  from 
the  assassin's  bullet,  according  to  the  widespread  report  of  the 
autopsy  held  this  afternoon.  Nature,  doctors  say,  could  not  help 
along  the  work  of  the  surgeons.  The  President  died  of  '  toxemia 
caused  by  necrosis  of  the  tissues.'  That  is  another  way  of  saying 
that  gangrene  killed  him.  This  could  not  have  been  prevented, 
the  doctors,  say,  by  any  surgical  or  medical  treatment. 

EVERY  PROSPECT  OF  RECOVERY. 

"  The  world  was  permitted  to  believe  that  President  McKinley 
was  on  the  road  to  recovery,  because  some  of  the  attending 
physicians  in  talking  for  publication  consented  to  construe  the 
President's  condition  as  highly  favorable  after  a  considerable 
period  of  time  had  elapsed  without  unfavorable  symptoms  being 
made  manifest.  Professional  etiquette  restrains  the  doctors  who 
talk  now  from  naming  their  fellows  who  were  responsible  for  this. 
All  were  too  sanguine. 

"Some  of  the  doctors,  notably  Dr.  Wasdin,  are  inclined  to 
believe  that  President  McKinley  was  shot  with  poisoned  bullets. 
This  is  not  proved.  The  only  way  in  which  it  can  be  proved  is 
by  examination  of  the  remaining  bullets,  and  particularly  of  the 
bullet  which  struck  the  President  in  the  breast.  But  the  Presi- 
dent would  have  died  of  his  wounds  if  the  bullets  were  perfectly 
clean.  His  system  did  not  possess  the  vitality  to  repair  the  dam- 
age done  to  his  vital  organs.  This  does  not  mean  that  the  Presi- 
dent's system  was  in  bad  condition,  but  only  that  his  vitality  was 
low,  or,  in  other  words,  that  he  had  small  recuperative  powers,  as 
result  showed. 


HOPE   ENDING    IN  DESPAIR.  286 

"When  the  President  was  shot  he  received  the  best  possible 
surgical  attention  at  the  earliest  possible  moment.  The  sur- 
geons exhausted  all  the  resources  of  their  science  and  skill. 
After  that  they  had  to  depend  upon  nature  coming  to  their  assist- 
ance and  nature  failed  them.  The  complications  which  followed  the 
mending  of  the  President's  wounds  were,  the  doctors  confess,  fully 
beyond  their  ken.  The  gangrenous  affection  did  not  manifest 
itself  in  any  way  that  could  be  detected  by  them.  It  brought  about 
those  conditions  of  the  heart  and  of  the  intestines  which,  during 
the  last  two  days,  showed  to  the  physicians  that  something  was 
wrong,  but  what  it  was  they  never  knew  to  a  certainty  until  they 
made  the  autopsy  to-day. 

THE  BULLET  A  MYSTERY. 

"  Lodgment  of  the  second  bullet  in  the  abdominal  wall  back 
of  the  stomach  had  nothing  to  do  with  the  President's  death.  It 
did  all  of  its  damage  in  the  abdominal  cavity.  That  bullet 
remains  a  mystery.  It  was  not  located  during  the  President's 
life,  and  two  hours  of  careful  search  for  it  after  death  failed  to  find 
it.  The  fact  that  this  bullet  remained  in  the  President's  body 
without  setting  up  any  disorder  where  it  stopped,  militates  against 
the  theory  that  it  might  have  been  poisoned. 

"The  fatal  bullet  did  more  damage  to  the  President's  vital 
organs  than  even  they  knew  until  to-day.  They  have  assumed 
that  when  they  had  repaired  the  wounds  of  the  stomach  they  had 
attended  to  all  that  was  necessary.  Damage  to  the  suprarenal 
capsule  and  the  left  kidney  was  never  discovered  by  them  during 
the  operation  which  was  expected  to  save  the  President's  life. 
Why  this  was  so  has  not  yet  been  explained. 

"The  autopsy  shows  that  the  bullet  passed  through  the 
stomach  near  its  lower  quarter  and  then  entered  the  muscles  of 
the  backbone  behind  the  kidneys  and  aorta.  From  that  spot 
surgical  skill  would  have  been  utterly  powerless  to  extract  it 
if  it  had  been  discovered.  On  its  way  the  bullet  tore  away  the 
suprarenal  capsule  and  pierced  the  left  kidney,  destroying  the 
upper  part  of  that  organ. 


286  HOPE  ENDING   IN   DESPAIR. 

"  When  the  gangrene  which  developed  also  affected  the  pan- 
creas, this  set  free  poisons  which  entered  the  blood  and  affected 
the  heart,  and  so,  in  the  end,  produced  death.  The  absorption  of 
these  poisons  was  what  caused  the  weakness  and  exhaustion  of  the 
President.  The  cathartics  administered  Wednesday  and  Thurs- 
day may  have  caused  further  weakness,  but  death  would  have 
been  inevitable  without  them.  The  wounded  kidney  of  itself  was  not 
a  serious  matter,  according  to  Dr.  Mann.  He  says  the  injury  to  that 
organ  might  have  developed  in  abscess,  but  that  it  was  not  neces- 
sarily a  part  of  the  fatal  conditions.  The  gangrene  which 
developed  in  the  stomach  wounds  primarily  and  was  communi- 
cated to  the  pancreas,  which  supplies  food  to  the  stomach,  was  the 
basic  cause  of  death. 

THE  FIRST  SHOT. 

"  The  doctors  commenced  work  on  the  autopsy  about  noon,  as 
soon  as  Coroner  Wilson  had  officially  viewed  the  President's  body, 
and  had  given  them  permission.  They  found  that  the  first  bullet 
fired  at  President  McKinley  by  the  assassin  did  not  pass  through 
the  skin.  It  probably  struck  a  button  on  his  shirt  or  vest  and 
was  deflected.  After  the  cause  of  death  had  been  determined  the 
doctors  searched  for  the  second,  or  fatal,  bullet.  They  looked  for 
two  hours,  Dr.  Mann  says,  and  finally  gave  it  up.  A  suggestion 
was  made  that  the  X-ray  apparatus  be  used  to  obtain  a  skiagraph 
of  the  wounded  region,  but  it  was  not  done. 

"  After  the  autopsy  the  following  official  report,  written  by 
Dr.  Mann,  the  surgeon  who  performed  the  operation  in  laparotomy 
on  the  President's  stomach,  was  issued  after  being  signed  by  all 
of  the  consulting  staff  except  Dr.  McBurney.  Bight  other  physi- 
cians also  signed.  The  report  follows  : — 

"  '  The  bullet  which  struck  over  the  breast  bone  did  not  pass 
through  the  skin,  and  did  little  harm. 

"  '  The  other  bullet  passed  through  both  walls  of  the  stomach 
near  its  lower  border.  Both  holes  were  found  to  be  perfectly  closed 
by  the  stitches,  but  the  tissue  around  each  hole  had  become  gan- 
grenous. After  passing  through  the  stomach  the  bullet  passed 


HOPE   ENDING   IN    DESPAIR.  287 

into  the  back  walls  of  the  abdomen,  hitting  and  tearing  the  upper 
end  of  the  kidney.  This  portion  of  the  bnllet  track  was  also 
gangrenous,  the  gangrene  involving  the  pancreas.  The  bullet  has 
not  been  found. 

"  'There  was  no  sign  of  peritonitis  or  disease  of  other  organs. 
The  heart  walls  were  very  thin,  and  there  was  no  evidence  of  any 
attempt  at  repair  on  the  part  of  nature,  and  death  resulted  from 
the  gangrene,  which  affected  the  stomach  around  the  bullet 
wounds  as  well  as  the  tissues  around  the  further  course  of  the 
bullet.  Death  was  unavoidable  by  any  surgical  or  medical  treat- 
ment, and  was  the  direct  result  of  the  bullet  wound. 

"  '(Signed)  Harvey  D.  Gaylord,  M.  D.;  Herman  G.  Matzinger, 
M.  D.;  P.  M.  Rixey,  M.  D.;  Matthew  D.  Mann,  M.  D.;  Herman 
Mynter,  M.  D. ;  Roswell  Park,  M.  D. ;  Eugene  Wasdin,  M.  D. ; 
Charles  G.  Stockton,  M.  D.;  Edward  G.  Janeway,  M.  D.;  W.  W. 
Johnson,  M.  D.;  W.  P.  Kendall,  U.  S.  A.;  Charles  Cary,  M.  D.; 
Edward  L.  Munson,  assistant  surgeon,  U.  S.  A.,  and  Hermanus 
L.  Baer,  M.  D.' 

CONCLAVE  OF  DOCTORS. 

"Drs.  Rixey,  Mann,  Mynter,  Park  and  Wasdin  were  the 
attending  surgeons.  Dr.  Stockton  was  added  to  the  staff  Thurs- 
day night.  Drs.  Janeway  and  Johnson  were  the  heart  specialists 
sent  for  on  Friday.  Dr.  Baer  is  Abner  McKinley's  son-in-law. 
The  others  were  Buffalo  practitioners  of  note,  who  were  merely 
called  in  to  assist  at  the  autopsy." 

Dr.  Roswell  Park,  speaking  of  the  probable  direct  cause  of 
the  President's  death,  said  :  "  Apparently  the  bullet  after  passing 
through  the  stomach  penetrated  to  the  pancreatic  gland,  though 
we  were  not  able  to  discover  this  fact  while  the  President  lived. 
The  ball  cut  a  small  grove  through  an  edge  of  the  left  kidney 
and  then  reached  the  pancreas,  afterward  imbedding  itself  some- 
where in  the  muscles  or  tissues  of  the  back.  There  was  nothing 
to  indicate  that  the  pancreas  had  been  struck  by  the  bullet  in  the 
examinations  that  were  made  at  the  time  of  the  first  opera- 
tion. 


288  HOPE  ENDING  IN   DESPAIR. 

"After  the  wound  and  incision  made  by  the  operating 
surgeons  had  been  closed,  it  seems  that  the  pancreas  fluid  escaped 
steadily  into  the  system.  Of  course,  there  was  no  way  for  us  to 
know  this,  or  we  should  have  discovered  some  trace  of  the  fact. 
We  could  not  cut  through  to  where  the  ball  had  embedded  itself 
and  trace  its  course  backward  from  there.  The  pancreas  fluid, 
which  properly  aids  in  the  assimilation  of  starchy  stuffs,  flowed 
constantly  from  the  wound  and  was  absorbed  by  the  tissues.  It 
reached  the  veins,  and  through  them  the  heart.  It  likewise 
provoked  gangrene  of  the  tissues.  No,  the  use  of  the  X-ray 
would  not  have  aided  in  the  discovery  of  this  trouble." 

"  Did  the  possibility  of  the  pancreas  having  been  entered  by 
the  bullet  ever  enter  into  the  calculation  of  the  surgeons  when 
they  were  in  consultation  ?  " 

NO  WAY  TO  FIND  OUT. 

"  Not  until  the  President  took  the  turn  for  the  worse,  after 
he  had  taken  the  solid  food  Thursday.  Then  it  was  only 
discussed  in  a  negative  fashion,  not  regarded  as  among  the 
possibilities.  In  any  event,  there  was  no  method  by  which  we 
could  have  discovered  the  fact.  The  President  realized  that 
there  was  no  hope  for  his  recovery  at  least  forty-eight  hours 
before  he  passed  away.  He  was  never  told  by  those  at  his  side 
that  they  knew  he  could  not  live.  The  X-ray  was  brought  to 
the  house  only  with  the  idea  of  having  it  near  and  in  readiness 
should  the  occasion  arise  for  its  use.  We  did  not  find  that  it 
could  help  us  at  any  time." 

Dr.  Park  did  not  explain  how  President  McKinley  knew  that 
he  was  beyond  recovery  at  a  time  when  the  physicians  were 
sending  out  favorable  bulletins  and  all  but  announcing  that  he 
was  out  of  danger. 

Dr  Mynter,  who  was  in  attendance  upon  the  President  almost 
from  the  moment  he  was  struck  down,  said:  "The  assassin's 
bullet,  from  what  our  examinations  demonstrated,  passed  first 
through  the  abdomen,  then  through  the  front  and  back  of  the 
stomach.  From  there  it  tore  through  the  mesentery  of  the  colon 


HOPE  ENDING  IN   DESPAIR.  288 

transversum,  notched  off  a  corner  of  the  left  kidney  and  passed 
through  the  rear  wall  of  the  peritoneum.  After  that  it  dis- 
appeared in  the  muscles  of  the  back,  and  we  could  get  no  trace 
of  its  resting  place.  It  would  not  have  been  possible  to  cut  in 
and  reach  it. 

"  I  have  treated  hundreds  of  gunshot  wounds  in  my  experi- 
ence as  a  surgeon,  but  never  before  have  I  found  that  conditions 
developed  such  as  have  come  up  in  this  case.  From  the  point  of 
entrance  of  the  ball  to  where  it  disappeared  there  had  developed  a 
gangrenous  course.  There  was  no  peritonitis. 

"  You  ask  me  if  the  bullet  was  poisoned  ?  I  must  tell  you 
that  I  do  not  know.  I  have  never  come  in  contact  with  an  instance 
of  a  bullet  being  poisoned,  but  there  is  this  gangrenous  course, 
such  as  neither  I  nor  any  of  the  other  surgeons  attending  the 
President  had  ever  encountered.  I  cannot  account  for  it. 

THERE  WAS  NO  HOPE. 

"  The  President's  stomach  was  amply  capable  of  retaining 
what  food  was  given  to  him,  but  the  gangrenous  spots  in  the  wall 
of  the  organ  were  working  the  mischief.  Had  he  survived  the 
night,  I  am  satisfied  that  to-day  would  have  found  these  mortified 
portions  falling  away,  dropping  the  contents  of  the  stomach  into 
the  abdomen,  and  then  death  would  have  ensued  quickly. 

"  Most  assuredly  the  solids  given  him  worked  not  one  whit  of 
harm.  We  only  permitted  him  to  have  a  few  nibbles  of  toast, 
that  he  might  chew  on  them  and  remove  the  secretions  from  his 
tongue.  It  was  absolutely  necessary  and  worked  no  injury. 
The  coffee  was  beneficial,  what  little  he  had  of  it.  I  give  coffee  as 
a  stimulant  where  people  suffer  from  heart  trouble." 

Dr.  Matthew  D.  Mann,  the  surgeon  who  performed  the  opera- 
tion on  President  McKinley  immediately  after  the  shooting,  and 
who  was  principally  in  charge  of  the  case  during  the  President's 
prostration,  said  that  the  autopsy  showed  two  unquestionable  facts: 

First,  that  the  President  never  had  the  slightest  chance  to 
recover;  and 

Second,  that  the  surgical  steps  taken  immediately  after  he 

19 


290  HOPE   ENDING   IN    DESPAIR. 

was  shot  were  what  might  have  saved  his  life  under  favorable 
conditions. 

Dr.  Mann  said  that  the  President's  hurt  was  one  that  under 
nearly  any  circumstances  would  be  fatal.  In  the  case  of  a  young 
man  in  perfect  health  and  vigor  the  same  prompt  surgical  atten- 
tion after  the  same  injuries  might  save  life. 

"The  evidence  we  find  after  the  autopsy,"  said  Dr.  Mann, 
"is  to  this  effect.  Even  the  first  impulse  toward  recovery  never 
existed  in  the  President's  case.  The  bullet  wound  showed  abso- 
lutely no  intention  to  heal.  Nature  did  absolutely  nothing  to 
mend  the  damage.  The  bullet  punctures  in  the  stomach  were 
held  together  by  the  sutures,  preventing  the  escape  of  foreign 
matter  into  the  abdominal  cavity,  but  the  tissues  had  shown  no 
disposition  to  unite.  The  President's  death  was  due  to  the  poison 
developed  by  the  gangreneous  condition  of  the  bullet  wound. 
The  poison  was  absorbed  into  the  system,  and  killed  just  as 
surely  as  would  poison  taken  by  the  mouth. 

FAVORABLE  SYMPTOMS. 

"There  was  no  high  inflammation.  The  constant  low  temper- 
ature, of  course,  demonstrates  that,  and  there  was  no  evidence  of 
peritonitis  or  septicemia.  I  can  only  say  that  the  President  was 
in  a  low  condition,  and  repair  by  nature  consequently  did  not 
follow  his  injury. 

"  I  do  not  mean  by  that  that  the  President  was  not  physically 
strong.  The  condition  I  define  is  different  from  physical  weak- 
ness. His  vitality  was  low  ;  he  had  no  recuperative  powers.  It 
was  found  that  his  heart  was  rather  thin.  I  mean  by  that  that 
like  any  other  muscle  of  the  body  which  is  not  kept  at  a  proper 
development  by  exercise,  it  lacked  strength." 

I  asked  Dr.  Mann  if  it  is  true  that  the  President  died  simply 
from  heart  failure. 

"No,"  said  he,  "that  was  not  the  cause  of  death.  As  I  said 
a  few  minutes  ago,  the  cause  of  death  is  absolutely  plain.  It  was 
gangreneous  poison.  Many  a  man  has  a  heart  like  President 
McKinley.  Any  man  who  leads  a  sedentary  life  gets  short  of 


HOPE   ENDING    IN    DESPAIR.  291 

wind.     That  is  due  to  the  fact  that  his  heart,  not  beiiig  sufficiently 
exercised,  is  more  or  less  thin." 

"How  is  it,"  was  asked,  "that  the  bullet  was  not  found  in 
the  autopsy  ?  " 

"The  only  answer  to  that  question  is  that  the  bullet  was  not 
discoverable.  In  three  hours'  search  it  could  not  be  found.  I 
•  think  that  fact  is  sufficient  reply  to  any  possible  critcism  which 
may  have  been  offered  concerning  the  failure  of  the  surgeons  to 
search  for  the  bullet  during  the  first  operation.  At  the  autopsy, 
with  the  abdomen  open  and  the  breastbone  removed,  it  was 
impossible  to  find  the  bullet.  How  futile,  therefore,  would  have 
been  the  effort  to  find  it  when  the  President  was  living? " 

The  following  lines  are  expressive  of  the  tender  sympathy 
felt  for  Mrs.  McKinley  : 

DEAR  HEART  AND  TRUE. 

Dear  Heart,  who  mourning  has  the  grief 

Of  this  wide  world  to  soothe  her  own  ! 

For  but  to  hear  the  name  of  the  beloved 

Breathed  by  some  other  voice  full  tenderly 

Hath  kept  full  many  a  heart  from  breaking  quite  ; 

And  thus,  so  she  ;  to  her  the  silence  kept  inviolate, 

Or  broken  but  by  harmony  of  sacred  song, 

Or  slow,  sweet,  music  of  the  vibrant  bells 

That  girt  the  earth  with  sound  ; 

Sure  this  must  soothe,  uplift,  inspire, 

To  wait — to  wait  another  day — 

A  day  when  all  her  days  of  sorrow 

Soothed  by  his  dear  love  ; 

When  all  her  days  of  sorrow  sweetened  by  such  memories, 

Are  done.     And  then — The  Silence,  Silence  ! 

Then,  The  Wakening,  The  Life  ! 

So,  fuller,  richer,  grander,  by  the  depths  of  this, 

So,  satisfying  and  eterne  ! 

So,  borne  above  her  loss  by  myriads  ; 

So,  wrapt  in  incense  of  their  prayers  ; 

So,  thought  on  by  all  women  and  all  men, 

She  still  may  live — live  on, 

Dear  Heart  and  True  ! 

* 

A  very  appreciative  notice  of  President  McKinley  appeared 
in  the  "Atlanta  Constitution,"  and  was  only  one  of  hundreds  of 


292  HOPE  ENDING   IN  DESPAIR. 

similar  expressions  of  grief  throughout  the  South.    Nowhere  was 
Mr.  KcKinley  better  loved  or  more  sincerely  mourned. 

ALL  IS  OVER. 

"  With  the  final  ceremonies  of  state,  rendered  in  the  federal 
capitol  building  yesterday,  the  nation  has  taken  leave  of  the  late 
Dresident. 

"Today,  in  Canton,  he  belongs  to  his  family.  Tomorrow,  in 
his  grave,  he  will  belong  to  eternity. 

"The  assassin's  work  was  a  shock  to  the  nation.  In  the 
desperation  of  the  hour  of  affliction  the  public  heart  was  hardened 
and  called  for  vengeance.  By  the  catafalque  upon  which  the  body 
of  the  victim  laid  so  reposefully,  we  almost  caught  the  smile  of 
life — the  victim,  the  offering  upon  the  altar  of  country,  was 
surrounded  by  estranged  hearts  made  one.  Let  no  rude  voice 
ever  presume  to  disturb  this  holy  consecration  to  country  ! 

"  Upon  the  firing  line  of  organized  society  Mr.  McKinley  had 
stood.  The  society  that  had  fought  its  battle  for  recognition 
through  the  darkness  of  patriarchalism  ;  that  had  found  some 
consideration  in  feudalism  ;  that  had  been  rudely  pressed  back 
by  absolutism,  found  its  resting  place  upon  a  new  continent,  and 
its  exemplars  stood  in  an  honored  line,  at  one  end  of  which  was 
George  Washington — at  the  other,  William  McKinley !  But 
though  society  had  fought  this  battle  against  power,  it  has  not 
yet  won  in  the  struggle  against  ignorance  and  vice.  Vice,  malig- 
nant, did  its  work  in  Buffalo,  but  society  has  shown  itself  strong 
enough  to  rally  and  stand  upon  its  feet.  McKinley  has  fallen 
upon  the  firing  line  of  progress  ;  his  body  has  been  borne  away 
from  the  trench  to  receive  the  honors  due  the  soldier  dead  at  the 
post  of  duty. 

The  President  found  a  mighty  nation  when  he  was  called 
into  office.  Washington  had  established  its  independence. 
Jefferson  had  outlined  its  civic  purpose.  Monroe  had  warned 
the  world  of  its  growing  importance.  Lincoln  had  held  it 
together  against  an  inherited  struggle. 

McKinley  found  the  nation  strong  and  rich,  but  torn  by  seeds 


HOPE  ENDING   IN   DESPAIR.  293 

of  dissension.  With  a  courtesy  chivalry  had  never  approached ; 
with  a  kindliness  so  apparent  that  it  allowed  of  no  donbt,  he 
touched  the  sensitive  point,  and  pronounced  the  words  that 
restored  the  unity  of  purpose  that  had  marked  the  Continentals 
when  they  fought  and  starved  together  in  1776. 

This  is  the  man  whose  body  has  lain  in  the  nation's  Capitol, 
and  from  whom  we  have  taken  leave.  Magnanimous,  kind- 
hearted,  patriotic,  he  has  been  borne  away,  and  the  nation,  weep- 
ing over  a  fallen  leader,  feels  the  stronger  for  the  work  he  has 
done. 


CHAPTER     XV. 

Obsequies  of  Our  Martyred  President — Extraordinary 
Demonstrations  of  Public  Sorrow — Body  Lying  in 
State  at  Buffalo — Immense  Throngs  of  People  Passing 
the  Bier — Short  and  Simple  Funeral  Services. 

IT  had  rained  fitfully  through  the  night,  but  as  the  morning 
advanced  a  genial  sun  dispelled  the  heavy  clouds.  The 
morning  to  which  Buffalo  awoke  was  balmy,  and  seemed  to  have 
done  with  its  sorrow.  But  the  people  had  not ;  they  had  learned 
that  services  for  the  dead  President  would  be  held  at  the  Miiburn 
house,  and  that  later  the  body  of  the  murdered  President  would 
lie  in  State  at  the  City  Hall. 

By  general  consent  they  resolved  to  await  the  latter  oppor- 
tunity of  looking  upon  his  face  in  death  which  a  short  nine  days 
before  they  had  seen  in  ruddy  life.  The  streets  were  astir  earl 3^ 
but  the  movement  was  that  of  a  people  sorely  oppressed  with 
grief,  and  the  gentle  sunlight  did  but  give  it  a  silver  lining.  At 
the  roped  barriers  drawn  around  the  City  Hall  they  gathered  and 
waited  patiently.  Down  the  abutting  streets  they  stretched  out, 
two  abreast,  for  half  a  mile  in  two  directions,  silent  or  talking  in 
low  tones,  most  of  them  wearing  white  badges  with  "  We  mourn 
our  loss"  and  the  late  President's  portrait  in  black.  As  for  a 
brother,  a  father,  were  they  mourning,  without  the  smallest  tinge 
of  affectation. 

Along  the  main  streets  mourning  insignia  of  black,  black 
and  white  and  purple  had  been  placed.  The  displa3>-s  were  man}^, 
but  scarcely  one  was  worthy  of  particular  note.  A  broad  crape 
streamer  dependent  from  a  half  draped  flag  was  the  most  effective 
emblem  seen.  The  washed  out  flags  put  up  in  joy  over  the 
Exposition  were  too  many  for  the  little  mourning  material  used, 
but  the  tender  respect  was  there  all  the  same. 

As  it  was  Sunday,  the  commercial  false  note  common  to  such 

294 


OBSEQUIES   OF   OUR   MARTYRED    PRESIDENT.  295 

occasions  was  not  heard.  The  street  fakirs  who  on  Saturday  had 
hidden  their  Pan-American  souvenirs  and  had  substituted  for 
them  stocks  of  funeral  emblems,  were  out  of  sight.  Nothing 
marred  the  dignity,  the  decorum  of  the  day.  The  police  had 
little  to  do  in  managing  the  crowds.  A  word  was  silently  obeyed. 
Democracy  was  preaching  a  powerful  sermon,  and  all  that 
happened  until  nightfall  bore  it  out.  All  was  for  ordered  liberty 
among  equals  before  the  law.  The  thrill  of  emotion  made  it  as 
human  and  living  as  it  well  could  be. 

The  new  President,  bodily  tired  and  mentally  worn  out,  had 
slept  well  in  the  pillared  house  on  the  avenue.  There  was  no 
waking,  alas,  for  him  whom  the  new  one  had  succeeded.  At  the 
Milburn  cottage,  where  lay  the  remains  of  William  McKinley, 
the  sunshine  was  fitfully  busy,  making  arabesques  of  shadows  on 
the  lawn,  over  which  the  sentries  still  were  pacing.  At  the 
distant  barriers  of  rope  there  was  no  great  crowd. 

ON  THE  WATCH  FOR  ASSASSINS. 

There  was  close  scrutiny  of  all  who  wished  to  pass.  This 
was  so  not  merely  because  of  the  desire  to  limit  the  number  near 
the  house  of  death,  but  also  because  of  the  dread  that  in  some 
friendly  guise  another  murderer  would  pass,  and  this  is  the  curse 
of  crime.  lake  the  enemy  in  the  night,  it  scatters  tares  of  dis- 
trust between  man  and  man  where  the  wheat  of  loving  confidence 
should  grow.  The  uniformed  police  were  watchful  and  not  a 
little  feverishly  nervous,  and  secret  service  men  swarmed  at  every 
elbow. 

In  th  'i  cottage  the  simple  preparations  had  been  made  for  the 
service.  Perhaps  in  holding  the  services  at  the  cottage  simplicity 
had  been  over  strained.  The  smallest  church  will  hold  more 
people  than  the  parlor  of  the  largest  cottage.  Great  care  had 
been  taken  in  limiting  the  invitations,  but  even  nearly  half  of 
those  who  came  could  not  enter  and  remain.  Doubtless  other  and 
more  delicate  considerations  ruled  in  making  the  order  of  things 
what  it  was. 

By  half-past  ten  a  goodly  number  had  arrived.      In  tall  silk 


296  OBSEQUIES  OF  OUR  MARTYRED   PRESIDENT. 

hats,  black  coats  and  black  gloves  they  stood  in  groups  upon  the 
lawn  and  waited.  Some  came  on  foot,  but  most  in  carriages,  the 
ropes  being  lowered  and  raised  as  the  carriages  went  past.  Hard 
on  eleven  the  hearse  with  its  four  high  stepping,  coal  black  Flem- 
ish horses,  its  fringed  black  hammercloth  and  silver-plated 
carriage  lamps,  drove  up — a  simple  equipage  enough,  such  as  any 
well  to  do  private  family  might  engage.  Why  not  a  catafalque 
for  the  nation's  dead  ?  Again  a  nice  discretion  ruled,  a  deference 
to  the  well  known  law  of  the  simple  ways  of  life  and  death 
that  marked  William  McKiuley. 

Anon  the  rhythmic  tramp  of  many  feet  is  heard,  and  the 
armed  escort  is  marching  by.  Barely  two  hundred  men  they 
seem,  and  chosen  from  all  the  arms  of  the  service.  Sailors  in 
their  brown-legginged  short  dress,  marines  with  a  touch  of  red  on 
their  blue  uniform,  a  company  of  regulars,  a  couple  of  companies 
from  the  National  Guard,  a  handful  from  the  Hospital  Corps — 

that  was  all. 

THE  CABINET  IN  ATTENDANCE. 

Members  of  the  Cabinet  began  to  appear.  Postmaster-Gen- 
eral Smith  and  Secretary  Wilson,  the  latter  the  more  venerable 
looking,  with  his  gray  beard,  entered  the  house.  Governor  Odell, 
very  erect,  waited  on  the  lawn.  General  "Dan"  Sickles,  in  a 
Grand  Army  hat,  hobbled  out  of  his  carriage  on  his  crutches.  He 
was  coming  to  see  another  old  soldier  of  the  civil  war — another 
comrade — laid  to  rest. 

Secretary  Root,  very  careworn,  came  on  foot  with  some 
ladies.  Senator  Hanna,  the  gravity  of  a  great  loss  brooding  over 
him  and  making  him  forgetful  at  moments  of  what  was  said  and 
done  about  him,  stood  apart.  Secretary  Long,  who  is  proverbially 
forgetful  of  the  small  things  of  life,  came  in  a  straw  hat ;  but 
the  hat  was  so  much  in  his  hand,  and  his  strong,  earnest  face 
was  so  seamed  with  grief,  that  the  unconventional  headgear  was 
noticed  by  few. 

Six  members  of  the  Cabinet  were  on  the  lawn  or  in  the  house 
when,  at  a  minute  or  two  before  eleven,  President  Roosevelt 
stepped  out  of  his  plain  carriage.  He  was  dressed  in  tasteful 


OBSEQUIES  OF  OUR   MARTYRED   PRESIDENT.  297 

black,  and  raised  his  tall  hat  in  salute  many  times  as  he  walked 
through  the  crowd  on  the  lawn,  now  lined  up  with  a  passage 
between.  The  sun  was  still  shifting  from  glow  to  shadow  as  the 
lines  on  the  lawn  followed  the  President  into  the  house. 

Entering  beneath  ivied  porch  and  turning  to  the  right  in  the 
wide  hall,  one  was  at  once  in  the  room  where  all  that  was  not  im- 
mortal of  President  McKinley  lay.  No  attempt  had  been  made 
to  alter  this  parlor  and  library  into  a  mortuary  chamber.  So  the 
black  shadow  did  not  fall  so  heavily  across  one  on  entering. 
Another  step,  and  the  coffin  on  its  trestle  was  before  one. 

THE  HISTORIC  ROOM. 

It  is  a  large,  oblong  room,  and  book  shelves  line  it  in  places. 
It  has  two  windows  that  let  light  in  through  thin  white  curtains. 
A  large  photograph  of  the  mutilated  winged  victory  caught  much 
of  this  light,  and  seemed  painfully  emblematic  of  what  was  doing 
there,  standing  out  as  it  did  from  the  wall  paper,  which  showed 
great  bunches  of  red  flowers  on  a  white  ground.  The  upper  part 
of  the  coffin  cover  had  been  removed,  and  a  national  flag  draped 
about  the  lower  part,  on  which  rested  wreaths  of  white  asters, 
yellow  roses  and  a  large  one  of  purple  asters.  Other  wreaths 
there  were  around  the  trestles. 

As  the  mourners  entered  they  passed  up  to  the  windows  and 
down  on  the  left  side  of  the  coffin,  gazing  on  the  dead  face  with 
his  own  tide  of  emotion  within  his  breast.  Some  lingered  and 
gazed,  and  many  tears  fell,  but  not  a  word  was  spoken,  save  a 
whispered  one  to  those  who  wished  to  pass  out  rather  than  bear 
the  oppressive  moments  that  were  to  follow. 

The  dead  President's  head  rested  on  a  pillow  of  tufted  white 
satin  ;  his  left  hand  lay  across  his  breast.  They  had  dressed  him 
in  black,  a  black  tie,  a  white  stand-up  collar.  In  the  lapel  of  his 
coat  was  a  bronze  Grand  Army  button,  sole  ornament,  sole  emblem 
of  what  he  had  been — a  lover  of  his  country,  faithful  unto  death. 
The  features  were  somewhat  shrunk  and  drawn  with  suffering, 
and  the  skin  was  yellowish  ;  but  the  sacrament  of  a  great  peace 
was  upon  his  closed  eyelids,  and  the  bony  modeling  of  chin  and 


203  OBSEQUIES  OF  OUR   MARTYRED   PRESIDENT. 

forehead  and  the  clear  line  of  the  silent  lips  showed  that  his  type 
was  noble,  and  that  the  heart  which  refused  to  beat  longer  was 
true  while  it  could  pulsate. 

Opposite  the  house  on  the  other  side  of  the  avenue  the  band 
of  the  Sixty-fifth  was  stationed,  and,  as  the  coffin  was  borne  on 
the  shoulders  of  eight  corporals,  one  from  each  branch  of  the 
united  services,  came  down  the  path  a  long  roll  came  from  the. 
muffled  drums,  and  then  the  President's  favorite  hymn  was  played 
as  the  coffin  was  placed  in  the  hearse.  The  following  are  the 
words  of  the  hymn  : 

I. — Nearer,  my  God,  to  Thee, 

Nearer  to  Thee  ; 
E'en  though  it  be  a  Cross 

That  raiseth  me  ; 
Still  all  my  song  shall  be, 

Nearer,  my  God,  to  Thee, 
Nearer,  my  God,  to  Thee, 

Nearer  to  Thee ! 

II. — Though  like  the  wanderer, 

The  sun  gone  down, 
Darkness  be  over  me, 

My  rest  a  stone, 
Yet  in  my  dreams  I'd  be, 

Nearer,  my  God,  to  Thee, 
Nearer,  my  God,  to  Thee, 

Nearer  to  Thee ! 

III. — There  let  the  way  appear 

Steps  unto  heaven  ; 
All  that  Thou  sendest  me 

In  mercy  given  ; 
Angels  to  beckon  me 

Nearer,  my  God,  to  Thee, 
Nearer  to  Thee ! 

IV. — Or  if  on  joyful  wing, 

Cleaving  the  sky, 
Sun,  moon  and  stars  forgot; 

Upward  I  fly — 
Still  all  my  song  shall  be, 

Nearer,  my  God,  to  Thee, 
Nearer  to  Thee ! 


OBSEQUIES  OF   OUR   MARTYRED   PRESIDENT.  299 

President  Roosevelt  and  the  Cabinet  followed  the  coffin  and 
entered  the  first  two  carriages.  Governor  Odell  and  Senator  Hanna 
rode  together,  the  latter' s  broad  face  still  wet.  So  they  followed, 
foreign  diplomats  with  stolid  faces,  Senators  and  officials  and 
former  officials.  The  son  of  former  President  Harrison  was  about. 
Former  Attorney  General  Bissell,  a  relic  of  Cleveland's  time,  and 
so  like  Mr.  Cleveland,  passed  from  the  honse  on  foot. 

The  military  escort  deployed  from  column  of  four  to  column 
of  platoons,  and,  led  by  the  band,  to  the  tap  of  a  single  drum, 
passed  slowly  down  the  avenue,  the  regulars  carrying  a  furled 
flag,  with  a  draping  of  crepe.  On  each  side  of  the  hearse  was  a 
guard  of  honor  of  eight  sailors  from  the  Michigan.  The  people 
below  the  barriers  awaited  the  passing  of  the  funeral  cortege  in 
respectful  sympathetic  silence,  and  so  saw  it  pass  slowly  by  in 
solemn  dignity. 

CROWDS  AROUND  THE  CITY  HALL. 

Down  about  the  City  Hall,  a  handsome  pile  of  granite  in  the 
heart  of  Buffalo,  two  miles  away,  the  crowd  had  become  enor- 
mous, but  Chief  Bull  has  learned  to  handle  crowds,  and  there  was 
no  pushing,  no  confusion.  Such  of  us  as  did  not  go  with  the 
funeral  procession  went  at  once  to  the  City  Hall,  where  the  pre- 
parations for  a  public  view  of  the  dead  President  had  been  admi- 
rably made,  and,  as  it  proved,  strictly  carried  out.  Scarcely, 
however,  had  we  entered  the  hall  than  a  torrential  downpour  of 
rain  began.  The  procession  was  still  nearly  a  quarter  of  a  mile 
away,  the  strains  of  Chopin's  funeral  march  coming  faintly  to 
our  ears.  Every  man  not  in  a  closed  carriage  must  have  been 
soaked  through  and  through. 

On  the  spacious  main  floor  of  the  City  Hall,  which  is  reached 
by  a  flight  of  stone  steps,  the  walls  were  hung  in  black  and  the 
large  recesses  on  either  side  tastefully  banked  with  palms  and 
palmettos.  Near  the  center  of  the  hall,  at  a  point  midway  between 
four  lighted  six  branch  chandeliers,  was  the  slightly  inclined 
platform  for  the  coffin.  Up  the  steps  it  was  borne  by  its  eight 
bearers,  who  turned  deftly — they  carry  the  dead,  feet  foremost — and 


300  OBSEQUIES  OF  OUR  MARTYRED   PRESIDENT. 

lowered  their  precious  burden  gently  into  its  place,  the  lid  was 
removed,  some  adjustments  made,  and  then  the  lower  part  of  the 
lid  replaced,  while  President  Roosevelt  and  the  chief  mourners 
stood  on  either  side.  When  all  was  in  place,  the  President  and 
Cabinet,  again  looking  on  the  body  within,  passed  out  of  the  rear 
of  the  hall  to  their  carriages. 

The  rain  was  falling  at  intervals,  but  it  could  not  keep  the 
crowd  of  citizens  away.  It  was  the  hour  of  the  people,  and  a 
little  rain  could  not  keep  them  back.  On,  in  moist  garments, 
they  came,  two  by  two,  in  two  streams,  looked  sharply  down  at 
the  form  in  the  coffin  and  were  hurried  along  and  out.  Hour 
after  hour  the  living  stream  continued.  At  each  side  of  the  coffin 
and  at  each  end  stood  a  man  on  guard.  A  sailor  with  drawn  cutlas, 
an  officer  with  drawn  sword,  a  marine  and  a  regular  with  fixed 
bayonets.  Thece  was  no  time  for  incidents  beyond  hurrying  the 
few,  inconsiderate  of  those  behind,  who  wished  to  linger  because 
they  loved  and  pitied.  But  all  was  done  gently,  and  the  tide  was 

kept  flowing. 

INDIANS  AS  MOURNERS. 

It  was  toward  four  o'clock  that  the  most  picturesque  visit  was 
made.  One  hundred  and  fifty  Indians,  chiefs,  braves,  squaws,  and 
pappooses  from  the  Exposition,  dressed  in  their  many  colored 
blankets,  with  painted  faces,  entered  the  hall.  A  great  wreath  of 
asters  had  preceded  them,  bearing  an  inscription  to  the  Great 
White  Chief.  As  they  came  into  the  hall  in  a  great  group  they 
looked  wildly  about  them,  but  the  hush  of  it  all,  the  solemnity, 
the  casket  under  the  lights,  the  statue  like  figures  of  the  guard, 
had  an  awesome  effect  upon  them,  and  they  fell  into  a  line  of 
two  abreast  at  a  word  from  their  white  leader,  and  so  passed  up  to 
where  the  coffin  lay.  As  each  Indian  chief  or  brave  came  up  he 
halted,  drew  a  white  aster  from  the  folds  of  his  blanket  and  gently 
placed  it  on  the  coffin.  Then  with  some  muttered  word  passed  on. 

Long  had  they  wished  to  see  the  Great  White  Father ;  that 
-wish  was  the  final  lure  that  drew  many  of  them  to  the  Exposition. 
Day  after  day  they  had  come  to  their  white  leader.  "  When  will 
the  Great  Father  come  ?  "  He  came,  they  saw  him,  and  then  they 


OBSEQUIES  OF  OUR  MARTYRED   PRESIDENT.  301 

heard  lie  was  shot.  Great  was  their  anger,  great  their  desire  to 
see  vengeance  wreaked  upon  the  murderer.  They  would  hunt 
him.  He  was  caught,  they  were  told.  If  the  President  died  the 
murderer  would  be  put  to  death.  Oh,  no  ;  that  was  not  their 
idea.  Give  him  to  them  and  let  them  give  him  the  terrible 
Apache  formula. 

The  Sioux,  the  Arapahoes  could  torture  him  with  many 
varieties  of  pain,  but  to  kill  him  quick,  like  that,  clapping  their 
hands,  Oh,  infamous.  Do  you  love  your  great  chief  that  you 
kill  the  treacherous  murderer  in  a  flash  ?  Long  after  the  Indians 
had  passed  the  grave  white  people  continued  to  come  and  go.  A 
river  of  love  and  compassion,  and  as  night  was  falling  and  the 
stars  were  coming  out  in  the  clear  vault  of  the  deep  blue  sky  the 
line  still  was  moving  without  apparent  end. 

RED  MEN'S  FAREWELL  TO  THE  GREAT  CHIEF. 

The  following  touching  inscription  accompanied  a  wreath  or 
purple  asters,  the  tribute  of  the  Indians  at  the  Pan-American 
Exposition  : 

"  Farewell  of  Chief  Geronimo,  Blue  Horse,  Flat  Iron  and 
Red  Shirt  and  the  700  braves  of  the  Indian  Congress.  Like 
Lincoln  and  Garfield,  President  McKinley  never  abused  authority 
except  on  the  side  of  mercy.  The  martyred  great  White  Chief 
will  stand  in  memory  next  to  the  Saviour  of  mankind  ;  we  loved 
him  living  ;  we  love  him  still." 

Another  account  of  the  simple  services  at  the  house  contains 
the  following  particulars :  By  the  head  of  the  coffin  on  its 
right  stood  President  Roosevelt,  upright  as  at  attention,  his  hat 
held  to  his  breast,  his  eyes  fixed  on  the  face  of  the  dead.  Secre- 
tary Root  and  the  other  members  of  the  Cabinet  were  in  line  with 
him,  and  below  these  was  Governor  Odell  and  behind  him 
Senator  Hanna.  The  room  was  now  uncomfortably  full.  The 
hall  was  full  and  across  the  dining  room  was  full.  Many  passed 
out  and  stood  bareheaded  on  the  lawn,  for  now  the  services  were 
beginning. 

Unseen  of  all  below  and  on  the  floor  above  the  widow  of  the 


302  OBSEQUIES  OF   OUR   MARTYRED   PRESIDENT. 

dead  remained  with  Mrs.  and  Miss  Barber  by  her,  and  Dr.  Rixey 
caring  for  her.  She  said  little  one  heard,  only  begging  that  if 
her  dead  were  to  be  taken  away  for  the  people  to  see  that  he  be 
brought  back  to  the  house  again,  that  she  might  watch  with  him 
till  morning — and  all  this  with  little  or  no  outward  sign  of  grief, 
for  she  sees  but  dimly  through  the  veil.  Those  who  are  without 
and  within  think  of  her. 

Magnificently  impressive,  by  reason  of  their  simplicity,  were 
the  services  at  Buffalo  over  all  that  remained  of  William  McKinley 
save  the  memory  that  will  linger  in  the  hearts  of  the  American 
people,  whom  he  loved  and  who  loved  and  trusted  him.  The 
grandeur  and  pomp  that  ofttimes  lift,  at  the  last,  men  of  mean 
attainments  to  a  pinnacle  of  suppositions  greatness  were  not 
present.  They  would  have  been  so  far  out  of  place  as  to  be  a 
shock  to  the  sorrowing  hearts  that  gathered  at  the  Milburn  cottage 
in  Delaware  avenue  at  eleven  o'clock. 

EXTREMELY  SIMPLE  CEREMONIES. 

Could  President  McKinley  have  directed  the  ceremonies  him- 
self, those  who  knew  him  best  are  united  in  the  belief  that  he 
would  have  changed  none  of  the  details.  It  was  a  simple  cere- 
mony. Except  for  the  presence  of  many  of  the  most  distinguished 
men  in  the  nation,  the  services  in  the  house  might  have  been  the 
last  words  said  over  any  one  of  a  hundred  thousand  men,  so  far  as 
one  unacquainted  with  the  facts  could  have  observed. 

Barely  two  hundred  people  were  admitted  to  the  house,  and 
those  only  by  special  invitation.  Except  for  the  newspaper  men, 
the  military  escort,  and  the  guard  of  police  there  were  few  people 
within  a  block  of  the  cottage  while  the  services  were  in  progress. 

During  the  morning  the  casket  was  taken  down  stairs  and 
was  placed  in  the  large  library  at  the  front  of  the  house,  just  off 
the  hall.  It  rested  between  the  two  front  windows,  with  the  head 
toward  the  street  and  about  two  feet  from  a  large  pier  glass.  The 
upper  half  of  the  casket  was  open,  and  on  the  lower  half  rested  a 
large  wreath  of  purple  violets,  red  roses  and  white  chrysanthe- 
mums. Two  other  wreaths  of  red  roses  and  white  chrysanthe- 


OBSEQUIES  OF  OUR   MARTYRED   PRESIDENT.  303 

mums  rested  on  a  marble  shelf  at  the  base  of  the  mirror.     The 
carpet  itself  was  draped  with  a  large  American  flag. 

Shortly  after  10  o'clock  those  invited  to  the  ceremony  began 
to  arrive.  At  first  they  came  singly  or  in  small  parties,  and  there 
was  considerable  intervals  between  the  arrivals  of  the  carriages, 
but  as  the  honr  for  the  service  drew  nearer,  carriages  drove  up 
in  rapid  succession.  Until  just  before  eleven  o'clock  very  few 
entered  the  house,  preferring  to  remain  on  the  lawn,  where  they, 
for  the  most  part,  stood  in  silent  groups,  awed  by  the  sad  mission 
on  which  they  had  come.  Most  of  them,  however,  had  gone  in 
when,  at  three  minutes  of  eleven,  President  Roosevelt  drove  up 
in  a  carriage  with  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Ansley  Wilcox.  He  shook  hands 
in  silence  with  several  members  of  the  Cabinet,  who  met  him  at  the 
carriage,  and  then  slowly  walked  to  the  piazza  and  into  the  house. 

MILITARY  AND  NAVAL  ESCORT. 

Meanwhile,  a  company  of  regulars  of  the  Fourteenth  Regi- 
ment, from  Fort  Porter;  a  detail  of  marines  from  Camp  Haywood, 
at  the  Pan-American  Exposition;  a  company  of  marines  from  the 
steamship  "Michigan,"  and  a  company  each  from  the  Sixty-fifth 
and  Seventy-fourth  Regiments,  of  the  National  Guard  of  New 
York,  had  drawn  up  in  Delaware  avenue,  and,  stretched  out  in  a 
long  line,  facing  the  house,  stood  at  rest. 

At  each  door  and  window  in  the  room  in  which  lay  the  casket 
a  regular  or  marine  had  been  posted.  At  one  of  the  front  win- 
dows stood  a  soldier  and  at  the  other  a  sailor.  At  the  door  leading 
into  the  hall  stood  a  marine  and  a  regular  ;  at  the  door  leading 
into  the  dining-room  at  the  rear  a  marine  was  posted,  and  a 
sergeant  stood  at  the  door  leading  into  a  smaller  library  on  the 
north  side  of  the  house. 

In  this  small  library  were  most  of  the  members  of  the 
McKinley  family  and  a  few  of  their  closest  friends.  Mrs. 
McKinley,  the  chief  sufferer  of  all,  did  not  come  down  stairs 
during  the  services.  With  Mrs.  Barber,  Miss  Barber,  Mrs. 
Hobart  and  Dr.  Rixey,  she  sat  at  the  head  of  the  stairs  leading 
into  the  main  hall.  All  the  doors  were  open,  and  she  could  hear 


304  OBSEQUIES  OF  OUR  MARTYRED   PRESIDENT. 

every  word  of  the  minister's  earnest  prayer,  and  the  sweet  strains 
of  the  choir  reached  her  in  her  seclusion  as  they  sang  the  Presi- 
dent's favorite  hymns. 

Not  once  did  she  break  down,  but  sat  through  it  all  silent 
and  possessed.  It  seemed  as  if  her  great  grief  had  exhausted 
her  power  for  suffering.  With  a  handkerchief  at  her  eyes,  she 
buried  her  suffering  in  her  broken  heart  as  she  sat  there,  hardly 
stirring,  until  j  ust  before  the  casket  was  carried  out.  Then  she 
was  gently  raised  from  her  chair  and  led  away  to  her  own  room. 

It  was  a  quarter  before  eleven  o'clock  when  the  people  who 
had  been  waiting  on  the  lawn  entered  the  house  and  in  single  file 
passed  into  the  room  where  the  casket  lay.  Casting  a  last  look 
on  the  features  of  the  President,  most  of  them  returned  to  the 
main  hall,  but  enough  remained  to  fill  every  available  spot  in  the 
library.  Senator  Hanna  was  the  first  man  of  national  prominence 
to  enter  the  room.  He  was  followed  by  the  Cabinet  members, 
who  took  seats  on  chairs  that  had  been  reserved  for  them  to  the 
left  of  the  casket,  while  the  Senator  sat  down  beside  Governor 
Odell  on  the  right  side  of  the  room. 

COMPANY  ROSE  IN  HIS  HONOR. 

President  Roosevelt  entered  the  library  from  the  small  room 
where  the  members  of  the  family  sat  at  one  minute  before  1 1 
o'clock.  As  he  came  in  every  one  rose.  Gravely  he  walked  past 
the  line  of  the  Cabinet  members  to  the  head  of  the  casket.  For 
a  moment  he  gazed  on  the  face  of  McKinley.  His  eyes  were 
suffused  with  tears  and  his  mouth  twitched,  but  with  a  superb 
effort  he  mastered  his  emotions,  and  during  the  remainder  of  the 
service  his  face  was  set  and  grim. 

Turning,  Mr.  Roosevelt  spoke  in  a  low  voice  to  Secretary 
Long,  who  stood  next  to  him.  He  evidently  requested  that  Cabi- 
net precedence  be  observed,  for  Secretary  Root  took  Secretary 
Long's  place  in  the  line.  Back  of  Mr.  Root  stood  Postmaster- 
General  Smith,  and  then,  in  order,  Secretary  Long,  Attorney 
•  General  Knox,  Secretary  Hitchcock  and  Secretary  Wilson. 

At  this  moment  the  Rev.  Dr.  Charles  Edward  Locke,  of  the 


OBSEQUIES  OF  OUR  MARTYRED  PRESIDENT.  305 

Delware  Avenue  Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  son  of  that  Dr. 
Locke  who  for  many  years  was  the  McKinley  pastor  at  Canton, 
entered  the  room  through  the  double  doors  connecting  with  the 
dining  room. 

He  went  to  the  door  leading  into  the  outer  hall  so  that  his 
words  might  be  audible  to  Mrs.  McKinley,  who  sat  at  the  head 
of  the  stairs  leading  up  from  the  hall,  and  there  took  his  stand. 
The  quartet  from  the  First  Presbyterian  Church  had  been  sta- 
tioned in  the  dining  room,  and  with  the  sweet  strains  of  "  Lead, 
Kindly  Light,"  the  services  were  begun.  Eyes  that  before  had 
been  dry  and  hard  filled  with  tears  as  this  verse  was  sung  with 
exquisite  feeling  and  pathos. 

DIVINE  AID  EARNESTLY  SOUGHT. 

Dr.  Locke  raised  his  hands  as  the  music  died  away.  For  a 
moment  there  was  intense  silence,  then  in  prayer,  his  words 
uttered  so  that  they  reached  the  ears  of  the  woman  sorrowing  for 
her  dead,  he  made  this  eloquent  appeal  : — 

" '  O  God,  our  help  in  ages  past, 

Our  hope  for  years  to  come, 
Our  shelter  from  the  stormy  blast, 

And  our  eternal  home.' 

"  We,  Thy  servants,  humbly  beseech  Thee  for  manifestations 
of  Thy  favor  as  we  come  into  Thy  presence.  We  laud  and  mag- 
nify Thy  holy  name  and  praise  Thee  for  all  Thy  goodness.  Be 
merciful  unto  us  and  bless  us  as,  stricken  with  overwhelming 
sorrow,  we  come  unto  Thee.  Forgive  us  for  our  doubts  and  fears 
and  faltering  faith  ;  pardon  all  our  sins  and  shortcomings,  and 
help  us  to  say,  '  Thy  will  be  done.'  In  this  night  of  grief  abide 
with  us  till  the  dawning.  Speak  to  our  troubled  souls,  O,  God, 
and  give  to  us  in  this  hour  of  unutterable  grief  the  peace  and  quiet 
which  Thy  presence  only  can  afford.  We  thank  Thee  that  Thou 
answerest  the  sobbing  sigh  of  the  heart,  and  dost  assure  us  that 
if  a  man  die  he  shall  live  again. 

"  We  praise  Thee  for  Jesus  Christ,  thy  Son,  our  Saviour  and 

20 


306  OBSEQUIES   OF   OUR   MARTYRED    PRESIDENT. 

Blder  Brother,  that  He  came  'to  bring  life  and  immortality  to 
light,'  and  because  He  lives  we  shall  live  also.  We  thank  Thee 
that  death  is  victory,  that  'to  die  is  gain.'  Have  mercy  upon  us 
in  this  dispensation  of  Thy  Providence.  We  believe  in  Thee — we 
trust  Thee — our  God  of  Love,  'the  same  yesterday,  to-day  and 
forever'. 

"  We  thank  Thee  for  the  unsullied  life  of  Thy  servant,  our 
martyred  President,  whom  Thou  hast  taken  to  his  coronation, 
and  we  pray  for  the  final  triumph  of  all  the  divine  principles  of 
pure  character  and  free  government  for  which  he  stood  while  he 
lived  and  which  were  baptized  by  his  blood  in  his  death. 

PRAYER  FOR  NEW  PRESIDENT. 

"  Hear  our  prayer  for  blessings  of  consolation  upon  all  those 
who  were  associated  with  him  in  the  administration  of  the  affairs 
of  the  Government  Especially  vouchsafe  Thy  presence  to  Thy 
servant,  who  has  been  suddenly  called  to  assume  the  holy  responsi- 
bilities of  Chief  Magistrate.  O,  God,  bless  our  dear  nation,  and 
guide  the  Ship  of  State  through  stormy  seas.  Help  Thy  people  to 
be  brave  to  fight  the  battles  of  the  Lord,  and  wise  to  solve  all  prob- 
lems of  freedom. 

"  Graciously  hear  us  for  comfortable  blessings  to  rest  upon 
the  family  circle  of  our  departed  friend.  Tenderly  sustain  thine 
handmaiden  upon  whom  the  blow  of  this  sorrow  most  heavily 
falls.  Accompany  her,  O,  God,  as  Thou  hast  promised,  through 
this  dark  valley  and  shadow,  and  may  she  fear  no  evil,  because 
thou  art  with  her. 

"All  these  things  we  ask  in  the  name  of  Jesus  Christ,  our 
Lord,  who  has  taught  us  when  we  pray  to  say  : 

"Our  Father,  which  art  in  heaven,  Hallowed  be  Thy  name. 
Thy  kingdom  come ;  Thy  will  be  done  on  earth  as  it  is  in  heaven. 
Give  us  this  day  our  daily  bread,  and  forgive  us  our  trespasses  as 
we  forgive  those  who  trespass  against  us;  And  lead  us  not  into 
temptation,  but  deliver  us  from  evil;  for  Thine  is  the  kingdom 
and  the  power  and  the  glory,  forever.  Amen. 

"  May  the  grace  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  the   love  of  God 


OBSEQUIES  OF  OUR   MARTYRED   PRESIDENT.  30? 

the  Father,  and  Communion  of  the  Holy  Spirit  be  with   us  alj, 
evermore.     Amen." 

As  Dr.  Locke  began  the  Lord's  Prayer  the  mourners  joined 
with  him,  and  all  bowed  low  their  heads  as  he  pronounced  the 
benediction.  For  a  moment  there  was  a  hush.  The  services 
were  finished,  but  no  one  moved.  President  Roosevelt  stood 
immovable  at  the  head  of  the  casket,  the  Cabinet  members  in  a 
line  at  the  side.  Then  a  man  who  seemed  suddenly  to  have 
grown  old  slowly  rose  from  his  seat  beside  Governor  Odell  and 
slowly,  very  slowly,  walked  alone  past  the  line  of  Cabinet  officers 
and  to  the  side  of  the  new  President.  His  hands  clasped  behind 
his  back,  his  head  bent  down  on  his  great  chest,  Senator  Hanna 
stood  and  gazed  on  the  face  of  the  man  he  loved. 

SADLY  LEFT  THE  ROOM. 

It  seemed  to  the  mourners  that  he  stood  looking  down  at  his 
dear  friend's  face  for  fully  five  minutes — in  reality  it  was  nearly 
two  minutes — before  he  turned  and  slowly,  sadly  retraced  his 
steps  across  the  room.  His  eyes  were  suffused  with  tears  and  on 
his  face  was  a  drawn,  haggard  look  that  was  almost  startling  in 
its  intensity.  His  were  the  last  eyes  to  look  on  the  face  of  the 
martyred  President  in  the  house  where  he  had  died. 

As  Senator  Hanna  sat  down  the  casket  was  closed,  and  the 
soldiers  and  sailors  advanced  from  the  points  where,  they  had  been 
stationed,  and  lifting  it  gently  but  firmly  on  their  broad  shoulders 
they  slowly  began  their  solemn  march  to  the  hearse  which  stood 
waiting  outside.  Close  behind  the  casket  followed  President 
Roosevelt,  with  Secretary  Root  on  his  left  and  the  other  members 
of  the  Cabinet  following.  Slowly  they  made  their  way  into  the 
hall,  out  the  front  door,  down  the  steps  and  down  the  walk  to  thd 
hearse,  while  a  band  posted  across  the  street  softly  played  "Nearer, 
My  God  to  Thee."  Lifting  their  precious  burden  into  the  funeral 
carriage  they  closed  the  doors.  4 

The  hearse  was  driven  across  the  street,  and  one  after  another 
the  carriages  came  to  the  curb.  In  the  first  carriage  President 
Roosevelt,  Secretary  Root,  Postmaster-General  Smith  and  Attor- 


308  OBSEQUIES  OF  OUR   MARTYRED   PRESIDENT. 

ney-General  Knox  took  seats  and  started  out  on  their  long  drive 
to  the  City  Hall.  In  the  second  carriage  sat  Secretaries  Wilson, 
Hitchcock  and  Long  and  Secretary  Cortelyou,  that  marvelous 
man  who  bore  up  so  well  during  all  these  trying  days.  General 
Brooke  sat  alone  in  the  third  carriage,  and  Dr.  and  Mrs.  Locke 
occupied  the  fourth. 

Then  came  the  hearse,  drawn  by  four  black  horses.  Walking 
beside  the  hearse  were  the  active  bearers,  the  soldiers  and  marines 
and  a  detail  from  the  Grand  Army  of  the  Republic  followed  close 
behind.  Next  came  a  company  of  marines  from  Camp  Haywood 
at  the  Pan-American  Exposition.  Then  the  Sixty-fifth  Regiment 
band,  a  company  of  the  Fourteenth  Regiment  stationed  at  Fort 
Porter,  a  company  each  from  the  Sixty-fifth  and  Seventy-fourth 
Regiments,  and  a  detail  of  sailors  and  marines  from  the  Michigan. 

The  glories  of  our  birth  and  state 

Are  shadows,  not  substantial  things  ; 
Man  has  no  armor  against  fate. 

Death  lays  his  every  hand  on  kings  ; 
Sceptre  and  crown  must  tumble  down, 
And  in  the  dust  be  equal  made. 

MIGHTY  CONCOURSE  OF  MOURNERS. 

Even  nature  mourned  for  the  poor  clay  that  but  a  few  hours 
before  was  ruler  of  a  mighty  people,  while  Church  and  man  paid 
obsequious  tribute  of  grief  to  the  slain  chieftain.  Sable  clouds 
darkened  the  skies  and  mourning  winds  lamented  in  the  tree  tops, 
and  when  the  pomp  of  state  unfolded  banner  at  his  bier,  and 
sounded  requiem  with  trumpet  and  drum,  the  heavens  were  riven 
and  a  deluge  fell. 

It  could  not  drown  the  reverent  sorrow  of  the  mighty  con- 
courses gathered  for  these  solemn  rites.  Thousands  upon  thou- 
sands pressed  and  surged  into  a  seemingly  endless  stream,  and 
stepped  with  gentle  footfall  and  hushed  breath  past  the  crape- 
garbed  catafalque,  where  the  waxen  frame  of  greatness  reposed  in 
the  supreme  indifference  of  death.  At  night  the  doors  were 
closed,  and  in  the  dread  silence  of  its  chamber,  where  time  and 
nickering  gas  jets  threw  fearful  shadows  round,  for  servants  of 


OBSEQUIES  OF  OUR  MARTYRED   PRESIDENT.  309 

the  Republic  kept  guard  and  vigil  over  the  dust  of  the  Com- 
m  ande  r-iu-Chief . 

Simplicity  that  had  in  it  something  of  majesty  marked  the 
ceremonies  of  the  day.  Huge  banks  of  gray  cloud  hung  low  in 
the  sky  and  a  dismal  wind  crooned  in  the  thick  foliage  of  the 
gardens  when  the  assemblage  began  to  gather  before  the  Milburn 
house,  and  those  with  cards  of  authorization  passed  within. 
Ranked  along  the  opposite  curb  were  Company  I,  of  the  Four- 
teenth Regular  Infantry,  a  corps  of  marines  in  command  of  young 
Captain  Leonard,  who  lost  his  arm  in  China,  and  a  body  of  sailors 
from  the  battleship  Indiana  and  the  old  frigate  Michigan.  In 
front  of  these  stood  the  Sixty-fifth  Regiment  band,  and  at  the 
intersection  of  the  two  streets  a  platoon  of  mounted  policemen, 
the  officers  in  helmets  and  uniforms,  tricked  out  with  full  dress, 

white  and  gold. 

LYING  IN  STATE. 

On  a  creped  platform  between  the  two  windows  of  the  spacious 
library,  which  looks  out  on  the  lawn,  rested  the  casket.  It  was  of 
massive  mahogany  with  an  outer  covering  of  unrelieved  crepe, 
and  with  double  doors  of  glass  and  wood  interlaid.  The  upper 
half  of  the  casket  was  open,  revealing  the  face  and  shoulders  of 
the  dead  President,  and  across  the  lower  half  lay  an  American 
flag  upon  which  rested  a  hugh  wreath  of  purple  violets,  red  roses 
and  white  chrysanthemums.  Between  the  windows  a  mirror 
reached  almost  from  floor  to  ceiling,  reflecting  the  solemn  panto- 
mine-like,  sinister  mockery  of  destiny.  On  its  marble  shelf  at 
the  bottom  were  two  wreaths  of  roses  and  white  chrysanthemums, 
with  pendant  purple  ribbons. 

Throughout  the  services  a  soldier  and  sailor  stood  like 
statues  at  either  window,  and  at  front  and  rear  doors  were  a  ser- 
geant of  infantry  and  a  private.  Thus  far  were  the  formalities 
of  state  regarded  in  that  hall  of  the  illustrious  dead. 

But  in  every  soul  gathered  there  stirred  an  emotion  more 
vital  and  human  than  any  panoply  of  power  could  give.  It  was 
for  the  woman  and  the  wife,  the  fragile  leaflet,  buffeted  and 
wounded  by  the  storms  of  circumstance,  who  had  known  the 


BIO  OBSEQUIES   OF   OUR   MARTYRED   PRESIDENT. 

moulding  tenement  lying  there  as  more  than  chief  and  ruler, 
as  lover,  friend  and  husband,  in  whom  the  exigent  ceremonies  of 
statecraft  had  never  touched  except  to  loftier  and  grander  values, 
the  tender  humanities  of  the  home. 

Bvery  eye  mutely  asked  for  her.  Bvery  heart  throbbed 
quicker  for  her  poignant  anguish,  but  no  one  save  a  few 
cherished  friends  and  guardians  saw  her.  Until  the  verbal 
services  began  she  sat  in  a  room  above  with  her  sister,  Mrs. 
Barber ;  the  latter's  daughter,  Dr.  Rixby  and  Mrs.  Garrett  A. 
Hobart,  widow  of  the  former  -Vice  President. 

They  brought  her  to  the  head  of  the  stairs,  and  there  she  sat, 
while  the  clergyman  brokenly  framed  his  devout  phrases.  Like 
a  statue  she  sat,  her  delicate  face  clothed  in  spectral  pallor,  her 
eyes  staring  blankly  into  space,  her  thin  hands  folded  placidly  in 

her  lap. 

The  striking   lines   here  inserted  are  from  the  pen  of  the 

gifted  poetess,  Ella  Wheeler  Wilcox  : 

"  In  the  midst  of  sunny  waters,  lo  !  the  mighty  Ship  of  State, 

Staggers,  bruised  and  torn  and  wounded  by  a  derelict  of  fate, 

One  that  drifted  from  its  moorings,  in  the  anchorage  of  hate, 

On  the  deck  our  noble  Pilot,  in  the  glory  of  his  prime, 

Lies  in  woe-impelling  silence,  dead  before  his  hour  or  time, 

Victim  of  a  mind  self-centred,  a  godless  fool  of  crime. 

One  of  earth's  dissension-breeders,  one  of  Hate's  unreasoning  tools, 

In  the  annals  of  the  ages,  when  the  world's  hot  anger  cools, 

He  who  sought  for  Crime's  distinction  shall  be  known  as  Chief  of  Fools. 

In  the  annals  of  the  ages,  he  who  had  no  thought  of  fame 

(Keeping  on  the  path  of  duty,  caring  not  for  praise  or  blame), 

Close  beside  the  deathless  Lincoln,  writ  in  light,  will  shine  his  name. 

Youth  proclaimed  him  as  a  hero ;  Time,  a  statesman ;  Love,  a  man. 

Death  has  crowned  him  as  a  martyr,  so  from  goal  to  goal  he  ran, 

Knowing  all  the  sum  of  glory  that  a  human  life  may  span. 

He  was  chosen  by  the  people  ;  not  an  accident  of  birth 

Made  him  ruler  of  a  nation,  but  his  own  intrinsic  worth. 

Fools  may  govern  over  kingdoms — not  republics  of  the  earth. 

He  has  raised  the  lover's  standard,  by  his  loyalty  and  faith. 

He  has  shown  how  virile  manhood  may  keep  free  from  scandal's  breath. 

He  has  gazed,  with  trust  unshaken,  in  the  awful  eyes  of  death. 

In  the  mighty  march  of  progress  he  has  sought  to  do  his  best. 

Let  his  enemies  be  silent,  as  we  lay  him  down  to  rest, 

And  may  God  assuage  the  anguish  of  one  suffering  woman's  breast 


CHAPTER      XVL 

Great  Outpouring  of  People  to  Honor  the  Martyred  Presi- 
dent— Tokens  of  Grief — New  President  and  Members  of 
the  Cabinet  at  the  Bier — Memorable  Scene. 

OUCH  a  spontaneous  outpouring  of  men  and  women  desirous 
^  of  paying  their  respects  to  a  man  whom  they  had  loved  and 
admired  as  that  which  took  place  in  Buffalo  never  before  occurred 
in  this  country.  As  early  as  five  o'clock  in  the  morning  crowds 
began  to  gather  at  the  points  of  vantage  around  the  City  Hall. 
They  stood  there  all  day,  constantly  increasing  in  numbers,  and 
regardless  of  the  wind  and  rain,  which  drenched  them  to  the  skin, 
in  order  that  they  might  have  a  last  look  at  the  face  of  the  dead 
President. 

No  fewer  than  one  hundred  and  fifty  thousand  persons  were 
massed  at  one  time  behind  the  lines  of  police  which  held  them  in 
check.  For  hours,  in  double  lines,  two  abreast,  they  filed  past 
the  coffin  containing  Mr.  McKinley's  body.  Though  they  went 
through  the  City  Hall  at  the  rate  of  from  one  hundred  and 
twenty-five  to  one  hundred  and  eighty  a  minute,  the  stream  never 
slackened.  Late  in  the  afternoon  there  were  two  lines,  each 
nearly,  if  not  quite,  a  mile  long,  in  which  were  standing  men  and 
women  who  waited  patiently  for  hours,  many  of  them  wet  through 
and  nearly  all  of  them  without  food,  in  order  to  see  the  President's 
face. 

When  Mrs.  McKinley  consented  to  permit  her  husband's 
body  to  lie  in  state  in  the  City  Hall,  she  would  not  permit  it  to 
be  taken  from  the  Milburn  house  until  the  committee  in  charge 
of  the  arrangements  had  promised  to  return  it  to  her  at  six 
o'clock.  She  could  not  bear  to  have  it  out  of  her  sight.  The 
promise  was  made,  but  when  it  was  seen  what  a  vast  outpouring 
blocked  the  streets,  she  was  persuaded  to  forego  it.  It  was 
planned  originally  to  close  the  doors  of  the  City  Hall  at  five 

311 


312  HONORS  TO  OUR   MARTYRED   PRESIDENT. 

o'clock.     When  that  hour  came  35,000  people  had  seen  the  body, 
and  more  than  100,000  more  were  waiting. 

It  was  evident  to  all  who  watched  the  sad  faced  procession 
that  morbid  curiosity  had  very  little  to  do  with  the  enormous 
assembly  of  people.  Their  attitude  and  expression  signified  a 
genuine  and  affectionate  interest.  Many  were  profoundly  affected 
at  the  sight  of  the  pale  face  in  the  coffin. 

Special  trains  brought  thousands  from  Lockport,  Niagara 
Falls,  Rochester  and  other  cities  and  towns  in  the  western  part 
of  the  State,  while  many  Canadians  crossed  the  Niagara  river. 
Members  of  the  Buffalo  committee,  who  watched  the  crowd  pass, 
said  that  not  more  than  half  of  those  who  saw  the  body  were 
residents  of  this  city. 

EMBLEMS  OF  SORROW. 

All  night  decorators  were  preparing  the  City  Hall  for  the 
reception  of  the  body.  Funeral  bunting  was  draped  both  inside 
and  outside.  During  the  storm  of  the  early  morning,  however, 
the  exterior  decorations- were  torn  down  and  some  of  the  bunting 
became  entangled  in  the  machinery  of  the  great  clock  on  the 
tower,  causing  it  to  stop.  It  was  said  that  the  hands  pointed  to 
a  quarter  past  two,  the  time  at  which  the  President  breathed  his 
last  on  the  preceding  morning. 

A  block  away  ropes  had  been  stretched  across  the  streets 
leading  to  the  City  Hall,  and  behind  those  the  crowd  massed 
itself  to  the  number  of  thousands.  Though  the  assemblage  was 
patient  its  mere  weight  pushed  the  ropes  out  of  place,  and  the 
police  were  constantly  employed  in  holding  the  lines.  Though 
the  sky  clouded  in  the  early  morning  it  was  not  sufficiently 
threatening  to  cause  preparations  to  be  made  for  rain,  and  many 
of  the  crowd  were  wholly  unprovided  with  protection.  The  fact 
that  it  was  Sunday  accounted  for  more  elaborate  costumes  than 
would  have  been  worn  on  any  other  day.  As  the  hour  drew  near 
for  the  appearance  of  the  procession,  which  was  to  bring  the 
President's  body  from  the  Milburn  house,  the  clouds  grew  blacker, 
and  a  few  warning  drops  began  to  fall.  It  was  then  too  late  to 


HONORS  TO   OUR  MARTYRED   PRESIDENT.  313 

seek  storm  coats  or  umbrellas,  and  the  dense  masses  of  people 
held  their  places. 

Leaving  the  Milburn  house,  the  cortege  started  down 
Delaware  avenue  slowly  and  solemnly.  So  slowly,  in  fact,  did  it 
proceed  that  it  took  nearly  two  hours  and  a  half  to  traverse  the 
two  and  a  half  miles  between  the  Milburn  house  and  the  City 
Hall.  Thousands  accompanied  it  or  watched  it  go  by  from  the 
broad  sidewalks.  The  mournful  and  deliberate  pace  with  which 
it  proceeded  added  much  to  the  impressiveness  of  the  scene. 

The  City  Hall  occupies  an  entire  block  between  Delaware 
avenue  on  the  west  and  Franklin  street  on  the  east ;  on  the  north 
is  Eagle  street,  and  Church  street  is  on  the  south.  Around  the 
hall  are  grassy  spaces  and  the  streets  on  all  sides  of  it  are  more 
than  the  usual  width,  so  that  there  was  plenty  of  room  for  the 
funeral  procession  and  for  the  crowds  which  sought  the  hall  after 

it  arrived. 

STRAINS  OF  THE  FUNERAL  MUSIC. 

Outside  the  hall  the  crowds  waited,  silently  and  patiently, 
until  one  o'clcck,  when  the  strains  of  Chopin's  funeral  march  were 
heard  in  Delaware  avenue,  to  the  north.  In  a  few  moments  the 
head  of  the  procession  swung  from  Delaware  avenue  into  Kagle 
street,  and  then  into  Franklin  street,  before  the  main  entrance. 
The  soldiers  and  marines  wheeled  into  line  along  the  curbs  and 
grounded  arms. 

At  this  moment  the  threatening  clouds  opened  and  let  fall  a 
drenching  torrent  of  rain,  which  was  swept  across  the  square  by 
a  strong,  gusty  wind.  The  horses  attached  to  the  carriage  in 
which  were  President  Roosevelt  and  Secretary  Root  became 
excited  j  ust  ab  they  were  turning  into  Franklin  street  and  began 
to  rear  and  plunge.  Policemen  caught  their  bridles,  however, 
and  succeeded  in  quieting  them.  The  hearse  drew  up  before  the 
door  and  the  band  began  to  play  the  music  of  the  hymn  "  Nearer, 
My  God,  to  Thee,"  as  the  military  bearers  took  the  coffin  upon 
their  shoulders. 

Before  this  President  Roosevelt,  the  members  of  the  Cabinet 
and  the  principal  mourners  had  gathered  in  the  rotunda.  Presi- 


314  HONORS   TO   OUR   MARTYRED    PRESIDENT. 

dent  Roosevelt  was  the  first  to  enter.  From  the  pillars  and  the 
staircases  hung  draperies  of  black  and  white  bunting.  The  in- 
terior of  the  hall  forms  a  cross,  a  wide  corridor  running  through 
it  from  east  to  west,  and  another  corridor,  somewhat  narrower, 
crossing  this  at  right  angles  from  north  to  south.  It  had  been 
arranged  that  the  crowds  should  enter  the  wide  corridor  at  the 
eastern  entrance  and  pass  out  at  the  western  entrance.  Half  way 
a  low,  sloping  platform,  draped  in  black,  had  been  placed  for  the 
comn.  It  was  so  arranged  that  the  head  of  the  coffin  should  be 
slightly  higher  than  its  foot,  which  was  toward  the  east. 

On  either  side  of  the  entrances  to  the  transverse  corridor  had 
been  blocked  by  banks  of  palms  and  ferns.  Directly  above  the 
spot  where  the  coffin  was  to  lie  is  a  circular  opening  to  the  second 
floor.  This  had  been  completely  covered  by  a  dome  of  black 
bunting  within,  which  hung  straight  down  above  the  coffin,  four 
American  flags  forming  with  their  lower  edges  a  cross  which 
pointed  to  the  four  points  of  the  compass. 

DRAPED  WITH  THE  STARS  AND  STRIPES. 

President  Roosevelt  and  the  members  of  the  Cabinet  ranged 
themselves  about  the  spot  where  the  President's  body  was  to  rest. 
President  Roosevelt  stood  at  the  foot  of  the  coffin  on  the  right 
hand,  with  Secretary  Root  opposite  and  facing  him.  On  President 
Roosevelt's  left  were  Attorney  General  Knox,  Secretary  Long  and 
Secretary  Wilson.  On  Mr.  Root's  right  hand  were  Postmaster 
General  Smith,  Secretary  Hitchcock  and  Mr.  Cortelyou,  the  pri- 
vate secretary. 

As  soon  as  these  lines  had  formed  the  bearers  brought  the 
coffin  slowly  into  the  hall  and  lowered  it  carefully  into  place. 
The  lid  was  removed  so  that  the  upper  half  was  open,  and  the 
lower  half  was  draped  with  a  flag,  upon  which  were  masses  of  red 
and  white  roses.  There  were  no  flowers  inside  the  coffin.  The 
body  of  the  President  lay  on  its  back,  clad  in  a  black  frock  coat, 
with  the  left  hand  resting  across  the  breast  One  glance  at  the 
face,  startingly  changed  from  its  appearance  in  life,  told  the  story 
of  the  suffering  which  had  been  endured  before  death  came. 


HONORS   TO   OUR   MARTYRED    PRESIDENT.  315 

Not  a  word  was  said,  and  as  soon  as  the  coffin  had  been 
arranged,  President  Roosevelt  and  Mr.  Root,  followed  by  the  other 
Secretaries,  led  the  way  past  the  coffin  on  either  side,  each  glanc- 
ing for  moment  on  the  dead  face.  They  then  passed  quickly  out 
of  the  western  entrance.  Behind  them  came  Senator  Hanna, 
Senator  Fairbanks  and  about  one  hundred  men  and  women  who 
had  been  waiting  in  the  City  Hall  or  who  had  accompanied  the 
body  from  the  Milburn  residence. 

President  Roosevelt  and  those  who  immediately  followed  him 
had  passed  out  of  the  building  at  eighteen  minutes  after  one 
o'clock.  There  was  a  slight  delay  while  the  guard  was  posted. 
At  the  head  of  the  coffin  stood  Sergeant  Galway,  of  the  Seventy- 
fourth  Infantry  Regiment,  of  the  regular  army  with  his  rifle  at 
attention.  Chief  Master-at-Atms  Luze,  of  the  "  Indiana,"  stood 
facing  him  at  the  foot,  with  his  drawn  cutlass  at  his  shoulder.  On 
the  south,  facing  the  coffin,  stood  Sergeant  Gunther,  of  the  Four- 
teenth Regiment.  A.  D.  Coburn,  a  sailor  from  the  "  Indiana," 
stood  facing  him  on  the  north. 

THOUSANDS  TAKE  A  LAST  LOOK. 

These  men  stood  absolutely  motionless,  looking  neither  to 
the  right  nor  left  when  the  first  of  the  crowd  was  admitted  The 
lines  approached  the  eastern  entrance  from  Eagle  street  on  the 
north  and  Church  street  on  the  south.  They  were  formed  by  the 
police,  two  abreast,  and  approached  the  hall  in  a  wide  sweeping 
curve,  which,  was  drawn  in  constantly  where  the  currents  joined. 
Both  passed  quickly  out  at  the  western  entrance  and  down  the 
steps,  dispersing  in  various  directions. 

Nothing  was  heard  in  the  beginning  but  the  tread  of  feet  on 
the  marble  floor,  as  the  crowd  passed  through  without  stopping. 
Each  individual  had  time  only  for  a  hasty  glance  as  he  was  urged 
forward  by  the  police  and  by  those  who  followed.  The  plan  was 
so  arranged  that  four  persons  could  pass  the  coffin,  two  abreast  on 
each  side,  at  the  same  moment.  As  the  afternoon  wore  on  and 
the  lines  grew  longer  at  their  source,  much  faster  than  they  were 
melting  away  at  the  hall,  the  police  found  it  necessary  to  urge 


316  HONORS   TO    OUR    MARTYRED    PRESIDENT. 

greater  haste  in  order  that  as  many  as  possible  might  be  admitted. 
Among  the  foremost  to  reach  the  coffin  was  a  slender  man, 
poorly  dressed,  with  iron  gray  hair  and  moustache.  Beside  the 
coffin  he  leaned  over  and  made  a  menacing  gesture  with  his  hand. 
" Curse  the  man  that  shot  you  I"  he  said.  The  police  urged  him 
forward  and  he  went  out  shaking  his  head  and  muttering  threats 
against  the  anarchists. 

CHILDREN  IN  THE  CROWD 

Many  men  and  women  brought  with  them  young  children, 
whom  they  raised  in  their  arms  in  order  that  they  might  see,  and 
perhaps  remember  in  after  life,  the  face  of  the  President.  A 
tattered  and  grimy  bootblack,  with  his  box  slung  over  his  shoulder, 
leading  by  the  hand  his  sister,  smaller  but  no  less  grimy  than  he, 
filed  by,  walking  on  tiptoe  in  order  to  look  into  the  coffin.  Many 
of  those  who  came  wore  mourning  badges  or  buttons  bearing 
portraits  of  the  President,  edged  with  black.  At  frequent  intervals 
in  the  crowd  could  be  seen  men  wearing  the  buttons  of  the  G. 
A.  R.,  who  had  come  to  pay  their  last  respects  to  their  fallen 
comrade.  Some  of  them  walked  with  crutches,  while  others 
carried  empty  sleeves.  They  bowed  their  heads  reverently  as 
they  passed  and  their  eyes  were  moist  as  they  made  their  way 
toward  the  exit. 

There  was  a  cessation  of  the  rain  soon  after  the  coffin  had 
been  brought  into  the  building,  and  for  half  an  hour  it  held  up. 
At  a  quarter  before  two  o'clock,  however,  the  storm  began  again, 
giving  tens  of  thousands  of  men  and  women  another  drenching. 
The  wind  was  so  high  that  umbrellas  afforded  little  protection. 
In  many  cases  they  were  turned  inside  out  or  torn  from  the  hands 
of  their  owners.  In  all  the  downpour,  however,  every  one  main- 
tained his  place  in  line.  Women  wearing  shirt  waists  which  had 
been  wet  through  were  in  the  procession,  regardless,  apparently, 
of  their  discomfort  so  long  as  they  could  gratify  their  desire  to 
see  the  President. 

Toward  the  end  of  the  afternoon  some  Indians,  in  their 
blankets  and  feathers,  followed  by  their  squaws,  filed  by.  As 


HONORS  TO  OUR   MARTYRED   PRESIDENT.  317 

they  passed  each  of  them  dropped  a  white  carnation  upon  the 
President's  coffin.  Two  chnbby  little  Indian  girls  forgot  their 
ceremony,  and  went  out  each  clasping  her  flower  tightly  in  her 
brown  hand.  The  officials  of  the  Exposition  and  the  representa- 
tives of  foreign  governments  commissioned  to  attend  the  Exposi- 
tion with  exhibits  from  other  countries  were  in  line. 

Soldiers  of  the  regular  army,  in  their  blue  cape  coats,  went 
by,  and  policemen  off  duty,  holding  their  helmets  in  their 
hands  ;  National  Guardsmen  with  khaki  gaiters  ;  colored  men, 
among  them  James  Parker,  who  felled  Czolgosz  before  he  could 
fire  a  third  shot  at  the  President ;  little  girls  in  their  Sunday 
dresses,  with  their  braided  hair  over  their  shoulders  ;  young  men, 
husbands  and  wives,  mothers  with  their  sons  or  daughters  went 
by  in  the  never  ending  stream.  One  wrinkled  old  woman  with 
a  child  in  her  arms,  which  she  seemed  almost  too  feeble  to  carry, 
had  waited  for  hours  outside,  and  finally  succeeded  in  seeing  the 
President  when  her  turn  came. 

Flowers  were  received  at  the  hall  from  Helen  Miller  Gould, 
Tent  No.  8,  Daughters  of  Veterans  ;  from  the  Commissioners  of 
Chili  to  the  Exposition  ;  from  the  Mexican  Commissioners,  and 
from  General  Porfirio  Diaz,  President  of  Mexico,  and  many 

others. 

DOORS  OF  THE  HALL  KEPT  OPEN. 

Monotonously  the  streams  of  people  flowed  past  the  cofEn 
while  twilight  fell  and  darkness  gathered.  The  interior  of  the 
City  Hall  was  illuminated  by  electricity,  and  the  streets  in  the 
vicinity  were  brightly  lighted.  Toward  sunset  the  sky  cleared 
and  there  was  an  immediate  increase  in  the  already  enormous 
crowds.  Though  it  had  been  planned  to  close  the  doors  of  the 
hall  at  5  o'clock  the  committee  in  charge  of  the  ceremonies  were 
unwilling  to  disappoint  the  great  throngs,  and  it  was  decided  to 
keep  the  hall  open  until  the  streams  were  exhausted. 

Senator  Hanna  selected  the  President's  coffin.  The  frame 
was  of  red  cedar,  covered  with  black  cloth,  and  inside  was  a  copper 
box  with  a  white  satin  lining.  The  handles  were  of  ebony  finish. 
The  cover  of  the  copper  box  consisted  of  a  full  length  pane  of 


M8  HONORS  TO   OUR   MARTYRED   PRESIDENT. 

plate  glass,  which,  rendered  the  box  air  tight.  Upon  the  outer 
box  of  the  casket  was  the  inscription:  "William  McKinley, 
born  January  29,  1843,  died  September  14,  1901."  Instead  of 
falling  away,  as  was  expected,  the  crowds  waiting  to  see  the 
President's  body  seemed  to  diminish  very  little  during  the  even- 
ing. 

LAMENTED  BY  THOUSANDS. 

The  following  additional  account  is  from  the  pen  of  an  eye 
witness  of  the  wonderful  scene  : 

"All  Buffalo  is  at  the  bier  of  the  dead  President  to-night. 
From  i  o'clock  to-day,  through  fierce  storm  and  sweltering  sun, 
two  apparently  endless  lines  of  humanity  have  been  moving 
steadily  past  the  black,  rose-covered  coffin  in  the  rotunda  of  the 
City  Hall  of  that  which  in  life  was  William  McKinley. 

"  The  throng  which  pressed  up  through  the  barren,  grass- 
worn  shelters  of  City  Hall  Park  in  New  York  sixteen  years  ago 
to  look  on  the  set  features  of  the  hero  of  Appomattox  was  not 
more  reverent,  eager  or  patient  than  this  throng  is  to-night.  The 
press  began  when  President  Roosevelt  left  the  coffin  side  shortly 
after  i  o'clock.  From  indications  the  rotunda  of  City  Hall  will 
not  be  deserted  before  daylight  to-inorrow,  though  the  crowd,  by 
twos,  passes  the  casket  at  the  rate  of  nearly  200  per  minute. 

"  As  the  placid,  pallid  features  appear  beneath  the  plate  glass 
of  the  coffin  bed  they  are  sunken  and  slightly  discolored.  The 
body  is  robed  in  a  black  frock  suit  and  in  the  left  lapel  of  the 
coat  is  the  button  of  the  Legion  of  Honor.  There  are  no  other 
medals,  marks  or  insignia  ;  nothing  to  indicate,  that  beneath  the 
rose  and  autumn  leaves  repose  the  remains  of  the  Chief  of  the 
greatest  nation  of  the  age. 

"  The  scenes  at  the  historic  Milburn  house  in  the  morning 
were  simple  in  the  extreme.  Services  which,  beyond  the  signifi- 
cance of  the  prayer,  would  have  marked  the  last  rites  over  the 
body  of  the  plainest  citizen.  Two  hymns,  a  Scriptural  reading, 
a  prayer — and  all  was  over.  Then  the  shuffle  of  feet  marking 
time,  the  low  word  of  command,  the  mournful  dirge  and  the 
march  to  the  City  Hall  began. 


HONORS  TO   OUR   MARTYRED   PRESIDENT.  319 

"  President  Roosevelt  reached  the  Milburn  house  at  ri 
<*'clock,  half  an  hour  before  the  time  set  for  the  services.  He  was 
apparently  unaccompanied,  but  an  instant  after  he  alighted  three 
commonplace  looking  men,  they  might  have  been  bookkeepers  or 
clerks  or  grocers,  slipped  out  of  a  carriage  that  followed.  It  was 
the  secret  service  and  local  detective  guard  over  the  new 
President.  A  few  minutes  later  the  Cabinet  arrived.  Then  Rev. 
C.  B.  Locke,  of  the  Delaware  Avenue  Methodist  Episcopal 
Church,  a  sallow,  dark-haired  intellectual  man,  came  with  his 
wife.  At  intervals  the  invited  personages,  mostly  Buffalo  folks, 
the  statesmen  in  the  city,  walked  slowly  up  the  flagstone 

pavement. 

TRAMP  OF  POLICE. 

"  Before  the  services  began  there  was  a  sound  of  feet  keeping 
time  on  the  asphalt  and  a  small  squad  of  police  appeared,  and 
were  quickly  and  quietly  distributed  around  the  house.  A  few 
moments  later  a  company  of  the  Fourteenth  United  States 
Infantry  marched  almost  noiselessly  up  Delaware  avenue  and 
took  up  a  position  opposite  the  house.  Then  a  company  of 
marines,  under  the  one-armed  hero,  Captain  Leonard,  took  a 
position  to  the  right  of  the  infantry,  and  in  quick  order  came  a 
picked  company  of  the  Sixty-fifth  and  Seventy-fourth  Regiments 
of  the  National  Guard  of  New  York. 

"  Stretching  up  Delaware  avenue  was  a  line  of  black  car- 
riages headed  by  the  hearse.  The  latter  was  sombre  black, 
without  plumes,  drawn  by  four  black  horses,  each  led  by  a 
policeman.  Down  West  Ferry  street  a  dozen  mounted  policemen 
stood  beside  the  horses  waiting  the  order  to  lead  the  escort. 

"  Meantime  the  services  in  the  house  of  death  had  begun. 
The  body  reposing  in  a  black,  lusterless,  hood  cloth  casket  with 
black  handles,  lay  near  the  centre  of  the  library,  the  head  toward 
the  Bast,  where  the  light  from  a  large  bay  window  fell  full  upon 
it.  Around  the  foot  of  the  coffin  was  wrapped  a  large  silk  flag. 

"When  the  services  began  President  Roosevelt  took  a  posi- 
tion standing  near  the  head  of  the  casket.  To  his  right  were  the 
members  of  the  Cabinet,  each  dressed  like  the  President,  in  black, 


320  HONORS  TO  OUR   MARTYRED   PRESIDENT. 

with  a  tiny  band  of  black  silk  crepe  around  the  left  arm  above 
the  elbow.  Outside  the  lawn  was  filled  with  persons  unable  to 
obtain  entrance  to  the  house. 

"Grouped  around  the  parlor  were  men  whose  names  are 
known  throughout  the  world,  and  whose  faces  in  pictorial  present- 
ment are  known  everywhere  :  Senators  Chauncey  Depew;  Keene, 
of  New  Jersey  ;  Mark  Hanna,  of  Ohio  ;  Fairbanks,  of  Indiana  ; 
Burroughs,  of  Maine ;  Congressmen  Alexander,  of  Buffalo,  and 
Olmsted,  of  Pennsylvania,  while  the  attendant  physicians  in  the 
last  illness  and  every  principal  official  of  the  Pan- American  Ex- 
position were  also  present. 

"  None  of  the  family  or  personal  friends  of  the  dead  President 
was  present  in  the  library.  Upstairs  where  she  could  hear  all  that 
was  said,  but  out  of  sight  of  the  casket  and  concealed  even  from 
intimate  friends,  Mrs.  McKinley  sat  attended  by  Dr.  Rixey.  The 
other  relations,  Abner  McKinley  and  family,  the  President's  sister 
and  sister-in-law,  were  all  seated  near  the  head  of  the  stairs. 

THE  FUNERAL  HYMNS. 

"  A  selected  quartet  with  splendid  effect  sang  "Lead,  Kindly 
Light,"  and  then  Dr.  C.  B.  Locke,  of  the  Delaware  Avenue  Metho- 
dist Episcopal  Church,  advanced  to  the  head  of  the  casket  and 
read  the  fifteenth  chapter  of  the  First  Corinthians.  Again  the 
quartet  sang,  this  time,  "Nearer,  My  God,  to  Thee."  Then  Dr. 
Locke  prayed  fervently.  (His  prayer  has  been  inserted  in  a  pre- 
ceeding  chapter.) 

"  This  ended  the  services.  There  was  a  slight  pause  and 
President  Roosevelt  advancing  took  a  long  look  at  the  calm  fea- 
tures in  the  casket.  It  was  manifest  that  he  was  moved  by  deep 
emotion.  Then  the  members  of  the  Cabinet,  the  men  who  in  re- 
cent years  perhaps  have  known  President  McKinley  more  inti- 
mately than  any  others,  looked  their  farewell.  Among  the  last 
was  Senator  Mark  Hanna.  He  gazed  long  and  earnestly  at  the 
face  of  his  friend,  his  frame  betraying  the  intensity  of  his  feelings. 
Then  turning  suddenly  he  sank  into  a  chair  and  buried  his  face  in 
his  hands. 


ONE  OP  PRESIDENT  McKINLEY'S  FAVORITE  HYMNS. 

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J  LEAD,  kindly  Light!  amid  the  encircling  gloom, 

Lead'thou  me  on ; 
The  night  is  dark,  and  I  am  far  from  home^ 

Lead  thou  me  on ; 

Keep  thou  my  feet;  I  do  not  ask  to  see 
The  distant  scene ;  one  step  enough  for  m£, 

2  I  was  not  ever  thus,  nor  prayed  that  thoui 

Shouldst  lead  me  on ; 
I  loved  to  choose  and  see  my  path ;  but  n<n$ 

Lead  thou  me  on ; 

I  loved  the  garish  day,  and,  spite  of  fears, 
Pride  ruled  my  will.    Remember  not  past  yearj* 

3  So  long  thy  power  hast  blest  me,  sure  it  still 

Will  lead  me  on 
O'er  moor  and  fen,  o'er  crag  and  torrent,  till 

The  night  is  gone, 
And  with  the  morn  those  angel  faces  smile 

haye  toyed  }oi»g  since,  jn_d  lost  a  while] 


21 


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322 


HONORS  TO  OUR    MARTYRED    PRESIDENT. 


"  The  crowd  on  the  lawn  was  scattering  now,  the  mounted 
police  had  wheeled  into  company  front  and  were  waiting  the 
order  to  march.  Swiftly  a  hush  fell  over  the  crowd.  The  hun- 
dred or  more  newspaper  correspondents  over  by  the  telegraph 
tents  became  more  attentive.  The  President  and  Cabinet  emerged 
from  the  house  and  lined  up  on  either  side  of  the  walk,  bare 
headed.  General  Brooke  and  his  aides,  adding  a  touch  of  brilliant 
color  in  their  uniforms,  fell  further  to  the  rear,  there  was  the  low 
mellow  roll  of  a  snare  drum  and  then  the  casket  appeared  in  the 
doorway,  borne  aloft  on  the  shoulders  of  four  sergeants  of  infan- 
try and  artillery  and  as  many  gunners'  mates  from  the  revenue 
cutter  "  Michigan." 

"NEARER,  MY  GOD,  TO  THEE." 

"  As  the  leader  of  the  Sixty-fifth  Regiment  band  caught  the 
gleam  of  the  flag-draped  coffin  through  the  ivy  over  the  porch,  he 
gave  a  quick  signal  and  the  band  softly  played  the  President's 
favorite  hymn,  "  Nearer,  My  God,  to  Thee."  Every  head  was 
bared.  Absolute  silence  reigned.  The  top  of  the  casket  bore  a 
pillow  of  roses,  banked  in  brown  autumn  leaves,  a  wreath  of 
royal  purple  immortelles,  a  handful  of  brilliant  red  flowers  and 
then  over  the  head  another  pillow  of  white  roses. 

"The  mounted  police  led  off,  followed  by  regulars  and 
marines,  and  the  rest  of  the  soldiery.  After  them  came  the  car- 
riages of  the  Cabinet  Ministers.  In  the  first  carriage  with  Presi- 
dent Roosevelt  were  Secretary  Root,  Attorney-General  Knox  and 
Postmaster-General  Smith,  the  three  latter  being  the  senior  Cabi- 
net officers  now  in  the  city.  The  second  carriage  contained  Sec- 
retaries Wilson  and  Hitchcock  and  Secretary  Cortelyou.  The 
third  carriage  contained  General  Brooke,  of  the  United  States 
army,  and  two  aides.  Following  was  a  carriage  with  Senators 
Hanna,  Fairbanks  and  Burroughs,  and  Governor  Odell,  of  New 
York.  Immediately  preceding  the  hearse  was  a  carriage  with 
Rev.  Dr.  Locke  and  his  wife.  None  of  the  family  accompanied 
the  body  to  the  City  Hall. 

"The  procession  moved  down  Delaware  avenue,  just  as  noon 


HONORS   TO   OUR    MARTYRED  PRESIDENT. 

was  striking,  between  parallel  lines  of  mourning  thousands.  As 
the  flag-wrapped  coffin  went  past  evety  hat  was  raised  and  a  silence 
as  of  the  grave  fell  over  the  host.  Down  in  the  vicinity  of  the 
City  Hall,  meantime,  a  great  concourse  had  assembled,  held 
within  bounds  by  restraining  ropes.  Policemen  were  stationed 
every  dozen  feet  inside  these  barriers,  while  the  entire  force  of 
mounted  police  kept  the  more  eager  and  restless  ones  in  submis- 
sion. It  was  not  a  turbulent  crowd,  but  its  very  mass  made  it 
restless.  On  Franklin  street,  at  the  junction  with  Eagle,  the 
crush  was  something  terrible,  and  half  a  dozen  women  fainted 
and  were  rescued  and  cared  for  by  the  police. 

"  The  rotunda  of  the  Buffalo  City  Hall  with  its  entrances 
east  and  west  and  its  cross  sections  is  shaped  like  a  cross  with  a 
circular  dome  rising  at  the  intersection  of  the  arms.  This  was 
roofed  with  black  festoons,  while  both  sides  of  the  rotunda,  north 
and  south,  were  a  solid  mass  of  green  palms.  In  the  center  of 
this,  directly  under  the  dome,  was  a  platform  draped  in  black 
cashmere,  and  raised  ten  inches  above  the  floor,  the  western  end 
being  five  or  six  inches  higher  than  the  eastern.  On  this  the 
body  of  the  President  reposed. 

SET  FLORAL  PIECE. 

"  In  the  center  of  the  south  bank  of  palms  was  a  huge  set 
piece  of  immortelles,  the  flags  of  the  United  States  and  France 
crossed  beneath  a  door  with  oustretched  wings.  It  was  the  gift  of 
the  Society  Francaise,  of  Buffalo,  and  was  the  only  set  floral  piece 
in  the  City  Hall.  All  around  the  circular  balcony  were  festoons 
of  black  and  white  and  flags  draped  with  crepe. 

"  The  day  opened  brilliantly.  The  sun  streamed  in  un- 
dimmed  radiance  over  the  closing  scenes  at  the  Milburn  house, 
but  as  the  cortege  moved  slowly  down  the  wide  avenue  the  west 
became  darkened  with  clouds,  purplish-black  and  within  an  hour, 
light  raindrops,  heralds  of  the  coming  storm,  caused  thousands 
of  umbrellas  to  be  lifted  like  great  black  mushrooms  over  the 
heads  of  the  packed  thousands. 

<;  Then  appeared  a   startling  and   dramatic   climax   to   the 


324  HONORS  TO   OUR   MARTYRED  PRESIDENT. 

movement  of  the  procession.  Just  as  its  head  appeared  at  the 
City  Hall  square  and  while  the  full  rich  notes  of  Chopin's  fune- 
ral inarch  swelled  out  over  the  heads  of  the  multitude  and  came 
back  in  mellow  echoes  like  a  benediction  from  the  towering  walls 
on  either  side,  the  storm  burst  forth  in  all  its  fury. 

"  It  swept  blinding  gusts  of  rain  around  the  corners  of  the 
great  granite  building,  that  stung  the  face  like  whipcords.  It 
seemed  for  the  space  of  five  minutes  as  if  every  window  of  heaven 
had  been  opened.  The  gutters  rose  like  mimic  mountain  torrents, 
waterspouts  and  gargoyles  bubbled  and  foamed  out  little  cata- 
racts. But  in  the  midst  of  this  torrent  not  a  soul  stirred.  The 
soldierly,  drenched  and  unprotected,  stood  like  statues.  The 
packed  crowds  never  wavered,  only  here  and  there  on  the  high 
rooofs  of  adjoining  buildings  the  spectators  sought  shelter. 

MOURNERS  ENTER  ROTUNDA. 

"  Before  the  coffin  had  been  deposited  on  the  catafalque  the 
official  mourners  entered  the  rotunda.  President  Roosevelt 
walked  up  the  steps  of  the  main  entrance  under  an  umbrella 
held  by  Secret  Service  Operative  Foster.  Others  performed  a 
similar  service  for  the  Cabinet  ministers.  President  Roosevelt 
took  his  position  to  the  left  of  the  casket  with  Secretary  Root  to 
his  left  and  then  Secretaries  Long  and  Hitchcock  beyond  im  a 
line.  On  the  opposite  side  of  the  casket  were  Secretary  Wilson,  Post- 
master General  Smith,  Attorney  General  Knox  and  General 
Brooke,  of  the  army.  As  soon  as  the  body  was  deposited  in  the 
catafalque,  President  Roosevelt,  with  Secretary  Root  by  his  side, 
and  followed  by  the  other  Cabinet  officers,  left  the  building. 

"  Within  five  minutes  the  signal  was  given  and  the  patient 
populace  was  admitted.  The  police  kept  it  moving  steadily.  At 
the  head  of  the  coffin  was  a  sergeant  of  infantry  with  fixed  bay- 
onet, at  the  foot  a  sailor,  a  gunner's  mate  with  drawn  cutlas, 
while  on  either  side  were  another  sergeant  of  artillery  and  a 
marine. 

'*  The  scenes  during  the  day  will  never  be  forgotten  by  these 
who  witnessed  them.  Men,  women  and  children,  the  halt,  the 


HONORS  TO   OUR  MARTYRED  PRESIDENT.  325 

lame  and  blind,  rich  and  poor,  Jew,  Gentile,  Greek  and  barbarian ; 
the  minister  of  the  gospel  and  the  habitue  of  the  slums  ;  the 
sweet-faced  matron  from  a  home  of  refinement  and  the  scarlet 
Jezebel  of  the  curb ;  the  canting  fanatic,  who  had  cursed  the 
canteen  and  President  McKinley  during  his  life  and  the  besotted 
dram  drinker  from  the  groggery  in  the  alley,  all,  all  were  in  line 
to  look  with  love  and  sorrow  for  the  last  time  on  the  face  of  the 

dead. 

LONG  UNBROKEN    LINE, 

"  The  rain  descended,  but  still  the  line  remained  unbroken, 
stretching  away  for  three  squares.  Men  and  women  were  in  line 
for  four  hours.  Some  had  children  in  their  arms.  When  at  last 
the  police  got  the  people  in  order  two  compact  lines  were  formed, 
one  passing  on  each  side  of  the  casket.  What  a  picture  it  was. 
Women  wept  and  men  with  eyes  full  of  tears  held  their  children 
on  high  that  they  might  see  and  remember,  even  in  death,  the 
face  of  the  splendid  Christian,  and  upright  statesman.  As  I  write 
near  to  midnight  the  lines  still  wind  their  sinuous  way  around 
the  square  and  past  the  black  casket  and  white  face  of  the  voice- 
less, pulseless  inmate. 

"  The  wretched,  God-forgotten  degenerate  who  wrought  this 
splendid  ruin  is  hidden  somewhere  in  the  city.  He  was  spirited 
away  when  the  fear  grew  that  he  might  be  the  subject  of  a  frenzied 
attack.  It  is  said  that  to  escape  the  crowd  he  was  disguised  as  a 
policeman.  Back  at  the  Milburn  house,  Mrs.  McKinley  rests 
under  her  great  affliction  with  the  physicians  fearful  of  the  final 
outcome.  Her  vitality  is  very  near  the  point  of  exhaustion.  The 
golden  thread  is  strained  very  nearly  to  the  snapping  point." 

The  following  comment  by  a  prominent  journal  voiced  the 
sentiments  of  our  whole  people  respecting  Mr.  McKinley  : 

"The  mournful  news  from  Buffalo  falls  heavily  on  the 
hearts  of  a  sorrowing  nation.  William  McKinley  is  dead.  The 
hopes  of  the  nation,  but  yesterday  so  high,  and  apparently  so  well 
justified  by  the  confidence  of  the  physicians,  are  thus  abruptly 
and  cruelly  crushed.  For  the  moment  the  American  people  will 
think  only  of  the  great,  gentle-hearted  man  whose  name  has  been 


326  HONORS  TO  OUR   MARTYRED  PRESIDENT. 

added  to  those  of  Lincoln  and  Garneld  on  the  Republic's  roll  of 
martyr-Presidents.  Perhaps  the  bitterest  drop  in  this  cup  of 
national  grief  is  that  the  assassin  has  taken  from  the  nation's 
highest  post  of  duty  a  man  who,  in  all  the  relationships  of  life, 
public  and  private,  and  no  less  in  his  ofncial  than  in  his  domestic 
character,  was  amiable  and  generous  to  a  fault,  kindly  to  the 
point  of  tenderness  and  devotedly  true  in  all  things. 

"  His  blameless  and  really  beautiful  home  life,  the  typically 
American  constancy  of  affection  which  bound  him  to  his  wife  and 
her  to  him,  making  each  the  first  object  of  the  other's  solicitude, 
so  that  the  public  rarely  saw  and  never  thought  of  the  President 
without  seeing  and  thinkiug  also  of  Mrs.  McKinley,  especially 
endeared  him  to  the  masses  of  home-loving  Americans.  This 
side  of  his  character  gave  him  while  he  lived,  and  will  keep  for 
him  now  that  he  is  dead,  the  same  kiud  of  profound  popular  re- 
spect and  liking  which  the  other  branch  of  the  Anglo-Saxon 
family  felt  and  still  feels  for  Queen  Victoria. 

REMARKABLE  PROSPERITY. 

"This  is  neither  the  place  nor  the  hour  for  any  extended  re- 
view of  Mr.  McKinley' s  administration  or  political  policies.  It  is 
merely  stating  facts  in  a  brief  and  comprehensive  way  to  say  that 
the  country  has  enjoyed  a  remarkable  period  of  material  pros- 
perity since  he  was  first  inaugurated ;  that  his  financial  policy, 
which  held  the  country  fast  to  the  moorings  of  a  sound  and 
honest  currency,  was  a  fundamental  condition  of  that  prosperity. 
For  this  alone  the  nation  will  ever  remember  his  two  elections 
with  gratitude.  Beyond  this,  as  his  last  speech  at  Buffalo  clearly 
showed,  Mr.  McKinley  had  an  open,  receptive  and  therefore  pro- 
gressive mind,  and,  had  not  the  hand  of  the  assassin  interposed, 
was  ready  to  lead  his  party  and  the  country  in  the  inauguration 
of  a  broader,  freer  and  sounder  commercial  policy. 

'  To  lose  such  a  man  at  such  a  time  is  indeed  a  great  national 
misfortune.  To  lose  him.  in  such  a  manner  a  sacrifice  to  the 
motiveless  mania  for  murder  of  the  anarchists — is  the  most 
lamentable  feature  of  it  all.  Yet  will  he  not  have  died  in  vain  if  his 


HONORS  TO  OUR   MARTYRED  PRESIDENT.  327 

death  leads  to  a  concentration  of  all  the  resources  of  civilization 
in  a  stern  and  effective  effort  to  repress  the  international  Ishmael- 
ites  whose  hands  are  against  all  law-abiding  men,  and  against 
whom,  theiefore,  che  hands  of  all  law-abiding  men  must  be  joined. 
u  One  of  the  best  and  best  beloved  of  American  Presidents 
falls  a  victim  to  the  worst  and  most  abhorred  of  evil  passions.  The 
nation  is  plunged  into  mourning  for  him  who  had,  through  his 
patriotism,  his  labors  and  his  wisdom,  given  it  cause  for  its  highest 
rejoicings.  The  trusted  leader,  under  whose  benign  administra- 
tion the  last  scars  of  old  fraternal  strife  disappeared,  unprece- 
dented prosperity  was  given  to  the  whole  land,  and  the  power  and 
fame  of  America  were  wondrously  magnified,  is  taken  from  us 
through  the  vile  machinations  of  an  alien  growth  which  never 
should  have  had  so  much  as  a  foothold  upon  American  soil. 

ONE  OF  THE  COMMON  PEOPLE. 

"  As  we  review  his  pure  and  lofty  career,  literally  without 
fear  and  without  reproach  in  public  and  in  private  life,  there  comes 
a  thrill  of  pride  at  the  thought  that  this  man  was  an  American 
citizen,  one  of  the  "  common  people,"  a  typical  product  of  our 
race.  But  as  we  think  of  the  manner  of  his  taking  off  it  is  im- 
possible to  restrain  a  passionate  disgust  and  loathing  at  the 
thought  that  the  soil  upon  which  such  a  man  grew  should  be 
polluted  by  the  presence  of  even  one  single  anarchist.  The  nation, 
bowed  in  grief  for  its  irreparable  loss,  offers  to  Mrs.  McKinley, 
recently  so  near  to  death  herself,  now  so  brave  and  calm,  the  as- 
surance of  its  tenderest  sympathy  in  her  utter  desolation. 

"  Whether  the  President  recovered  or  not  from  his  would-be 
murderer's  assault— -an  assault  from  which  of  all  men  the  broad 
humanity  of  his  character  and  purposes  should  have  defended  him 
— his  place  was  already  secure  in  the  great  line  of  American  rulers 
and  statesmen.  Whether  his  fate  was  to  couple  itself  with  Lin- 
coln's, stricken  down  at  the  very  threshold  of  a  second  term  of 
office,  or  he  was  to  be  spared  to  imitate  the  example  of  Washing- 
ton and  retire,  his  work  completed,  amid  the  plaudits  of  his  coun- 
trymen, he  could  safely  count  on  the  impartial  judgment  of 


328  HONORS  TO  OUR   MARTYRED   PRESIDENT. 

history  to  link  his  name  with  those  of  the  two  great  Presidents  to 
whom  beyond  all  others  this  country  owes  the  impulses  of  which 
have  made  it  an  indivisible  and  sovereign  Union. 

"To  the  work  of  nationalization  begun  by  Washington  and 
completed  in  the  clash  of  arms  by  Lincoln,  it  fell  to  President 
McKinley's  statesmanship  to  give  the  final  healing  and  harmon- 
izing touches,  and  his  administration  has  seen  the  nation  emerge 
at  last  from  the  shadows  of  sectionalism  and  realize,  after  a 
century  of  effort,  that  'more  perfect  union'  which  it  was  the 
fundamental  purpose  of  the  Federal  constitution  to  promote. 

SET  UP  A  NEW  MILESTONE. 

"  Though  supplementary  in  their  character,  President 
McKinley's  contributions  to  the  creation  of  a  truly  national 
spirit  have  therefore  been  as  genuine  and  as  vital  as  either 
Lincoln's  or  Washington's.  His  first  administration  must,  in 
fact,  be  accepted  as  marking  a  new  and  important  milestone  in  our 
political  development.  Three  distinct  services  in  broadening  and 
unifying  our  national  life  are  to  be  credited  to  William  McKin- 
leys'  political  leadership.  His  first  Presidential  campaign  broke 
at  last  the  lines  of  the  Solid  South,  and  his  second  showed  that 
the  wedge  driven  into  that  crumbling  fabric  of  sectional  passions 
and  sectional  prejudices  had  been  driven  in  to  stay.  The  war 
with  Spain  hastened  the  process  which  the  canvass  of  1896  had 
so  happily  begun,  and  the  call  of  the  Government  for  troops 
reunited  old  foes  in  war  and  politics  under  a  single  flag. 

"  But  the  first  McKinley  administration  did  more  than 
merely  soothe  sectional  resentments  ;  it  saw  uprooted  two  political 
issues  which  had  long  been  used  to  inflame  internal  dissensions — 
to  set  class  against  class  and  section  against  section.  The  tariff 
question  which  had  been  artfully  employed  to  array  the  agri- 
cultural against  the  manufacturing  States  and  Southern  interests 
against  Northern  interests,  ceased,  after  the  passage  of  the  Ding- 
ley  act,  to  be  a  bone  of  partisan  contention,  while  the  silver 
question,  which  was  depended  on  to  pit  the  poor  against  the  rich, 
and  the  far  West  and  South  against  the  rest  of  the  Union,  dropped 


HONORS  TO  OUR   MARTYRED   PRESIDENT. 

with  the  election  of  1900  out  of  the  category  of  disturbing  political 
problems. 

"Sectional  prejudices  beaten  down  and  sectional  questions 
thrust  aside,  American  political  life  has  naturally  entered  its  last 
and  truest  national  phase.  In  the  train  of  our  victory  over  Spain 
new  responsibilities  and  new  opportunities  have  come,  which  force 
the  nation  more  and  more  to  forget  internal  distractions  and  to 
face  the  problems  of  our  changed  relationship  with  the  outside 
world. 

THE  TREATY  WITH  SPAIN. 

"  With  the  conclusion  of  the  Treaty  of  Paris  American  energy 
felt  itself  turned  to  new  tasks  and  new  questions  of  statecraft,  and 
a  new  ferment  of  national  spirit  has  signalized  the  final  acceptance 
by  the  United  States  of  its  true  role  as  one  of  the  greatest  powers 
in  the  civilized  world.  President  McKinley's  first  administration 
promises  to  take  its  color  in  history  from  the  Paris  convention 
and  the  consequences  flowing  from  that  epoch  making  instrument; 
and  with  this  last  rounded  development  of  American  nationality 
his  name  is  certain  to  be  as  fitly  associated  as  Lincoln's  is  with 
its  middle  phase,  or  Washington's  is  with  it  earliest  beginnings." 

Mr.  McKinley  was  always  actuated  in  his  administration  of 
public  affairs  by  the  homely  tenet  of  Lincoln  to  act  as  "  God  gives 
us  to  see  the  right,"  blended  with  that  ancient  democratic  axiom, 
"Vox  populi,  vox  Dei."  Like  General  Grant,  he  put  the  will  of 
the  people  paramount  and  tried  to  make  sure  the  greatest  good 
for  the  greatest  number.  He  believed  in  the  mandate  of  the 
majority,  and  obeyed  it,  holding  that  the  citizen  had  the  supreme 
power.  He  believed  that  the  popular  will  of  educated  masses 
could  hardly  give  unjust  orders  or  make  unfair  demands. 

Having  long  been  a  member  of  Congress  he  knew  and  re- 
spected the  authority  of  that  body.  He  had  policies  of  his  own 
formulation  which  he  urged  upon  the  representatives  of  the  people, 
but  when  they  refused  to  adopt  them,  he  bowed  to  their  decision 
and  executed  the  laws  they  passed  as  cheerfully  as  he  would  those 
of  his  own  suggestion. 


CHAPTER      XVII. 

Funeral  Cortege  Reaches  Washington — A  Nation's  Tribute 
of  Respect  and  Love — Services  in  the  Capitol — Memo- 
rial Address  of  Bishop  Andrews. 

DENEATH  the  great  white  dome  of  the  Capitol  funeral  services 
*-'  of  state  were  held  over  the  remains  of  the  dead  President.  It 
was  eminently  fitting  that  the  services  should  be  conducted 
in  that  beautiful  rotunda  hallowed  by  the  history  of  the  last  sad 
rites  of  two  other  martyrs  to  the  cause  of  the  Republic.  As  befitted 
the  occasion  and  the  character  of  the  man  whose  remains  were 
lying  cold  and  rigid  in  the  narrow  embrace  of  the  metallic  casket, 
the  services  were  simple. 

They  were  conducted  in  accordance  with  the  rites  of  the 
Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  of  which  President  McKinley  was  a 
lifelong  member.  Consisting  only  of  two  nymns,  a  song,  a  prayer, 
an  address  and  a  benediction,  they  were  beautifu?  and  solemnly 
impressive.  Gathered  around  the  bier  were  representatives  of 
every  phase  of  American  national  life,  including  the  President  and 
the  only  surviving  ex-President  of  the  United  States,  together 
with  representatives  at  this  capital  of  almost  every  nation  of  the 
earth.  Great  Britain,  France,  Germany,  Italy,  Spain  and  all  the 
Republics  to  the  southward  of  the  United  States  mingled  their 
tears  with  those  of  the  American  people. 

Despite  the  fact  that  no  attempt  had  been  made  to  decorate 
the  interior  of  the  rotunda,  beyond  the  arrangements  made  about 
the  catafalque,  the  assemblage  presented  a  memorable  sight.  The 
sombre  black  of  the  attire  of  the  hundreds  of  civilians  present  was 
splashed  brilliantly  with  the  blue  and  gold  of  the  representatives 
of  the  army  and  the  navy  and  the  court  costumes  of  the  Diplo- 
matic Corps.  As  the  sweet  notes  of  Mr.  McKinley's  favorite 
hymn,  "Lead,  Kindly  Light,"  floated  through  the  great  rotunda, 
the  assemblage  rose  to  its  feet.  Bared  heads  were  bowed  and  eyes 

Streamed  with  tears.     At  the  conclusion  of  the  hymn,  as  Rev.  Dr. 
330 


IMPRESSIVE  SERVICES  AT  THE  CAPITOL. 


331 


Nay  lor,  Presiding  Elder  of  the  Washington  District,  rose  to  offer 
prayer,  the  hush  that  fell  upon  the  people  was  profound.  When, 
in  conclusion,  he  repeated  the  words  of  the  Lord's  Prayer,  the 
great  audience  joined  solemnly  with  him.  The  murmur  of  their 
voices  resembled  nothing  less  than  the  roll  of  far  distant  surf. 

Scarcely  had  the  word  amen  been  breathed  when  the  liquid 
tone  of  that  sweetly  pleading  song,  "Some  Time  We'll  Under- 
stand," went  straight  to  the  heart  of  every  auditor.  The  solo 
was  sung  by  Mrs.  Thomas  C.  Noyes,  and  the  beautiful  refrain 
was  echoed  and  re-echoed  by  the  double  quartette  choir. 

ELOQUENT  TRIBUTE  TO  THE  DEAD. 

The  venerable  Bishop  Edward  G.  Andrews,  of  Ohio,  the 
oldest  Bishop  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  then  took  his 
position  at  the  head  of  the  bier.  A  gentle  breeze  through  the 
rotunda  stirred  the  delicate  blooms  which  lay  upon  the  coffin, 
and  the  "  peace  that  passeth  all  understanding"  seemed  to  rest 
upon  the  venerable  man's  countenance  as  he  began  his  eulogy  of 
the  life  and  works  of  William  McKinley.  His  words  were 
simple,  but  his  whole  heart  was  in  every  one  of  them.  His 
tribute  to  the  Christian  fortitude  of  the  dead  President  was  im- 
pressive. Upon  the  conclusion  of  the  sermon,  the  audience,  as 
if  by  pre-arrangement,  joined  the  choir  in  singing  "  Nearer,  My 
God,  to  Thee."  All  present  seemed  to  be  imbued  with  a  senti- 
ment of  hallowed  resignation  as  the  divine  blessing  was  asked  by 
the  Rev.  W.  H.  Chapman,  acting  pastor  of  the  Metropolitan 
Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  upon  both  the  living  and  the  dead. 

Mrs.  McKinley,  bereft  of  husband  and  prostrated  by  her 
overwhelming  sorrow,  did  not  attend  the  services  at  the  Capitol. 
It  was  deemed  wise  by  those  now  nearest  and  dearest  to  her  that 
she  should  not  undergo  the  ordeal  her  attendance  would  entail 
upon  her.  She  remained  at  the  White  House,  comforted  by 
every  attention  that  loving  thoughtfulness  could  suggest. 

Arrangements  for  the  movement  of  the  funeral  cortege  from 
the  White  House  to  the  Capitol  were  completed  that  night  after 
the  remains  of  the  President  had  been  deposited  in  the  historic 


332  IMPRESSIVE  SERVICES  AT  THE  CAPITOL 

East  Room  of  the  mansion.  It  was  a  perfect  autumn  day,  but 
the  morning  dawned  gray  and  dreary.  The  sky  was  overcast 
with  low  flying  clouds.  Nature  itself  seemed  to  be  in  mourning 
for  the  nation's  dead.  As  the  hours  passed  dashes  of  rain  fell 
at  intervals,  but,  despite  this  discomfort,  tens  of  thousands  of  sor- 
rowing people  appeared  early  upon  the  streets.  Both  sides  of 
Pennsylvania  avenue,  from  the  White  House  to  the  Capitol,  were 
massed  with  an  impenetrable  cordon  of  people,  wishing  in  this 
way  to  pay  fiual  tribute  of  love  and  respect  for  the  dead. 

DISTINGUISHED    ESCORT. 

As  the  funeral  cortege,  escorted  by  troops  representing  every 
department  of  the  nation's  martial  service,  and  by  representatives 
of  religious  and  civic  organizations,  passed  down  the  broad  thor- 
oughfare to  the  solemn  notes  of  the  Dead  March  from  "Saul" 
wailed  by  the  bands,  the  sorrowing  people  bared  their  heads 
despite  the  rain,  and  the  many  tear-stained  faces  bespoke  their 
grief  more  eloquently  than  words.  It  was  a  silent  throng.  Not 
a  sound  was  heard.  With  aching  hearts  all  remembered  that 
only  a  few  months  ago,  the  dead  President,  then  in  the  fulness 
of  life  and  triumph,  had  passed  along  that  same  thoroughfare  to 
be  inaugurated  a  second  time  President.  The  flags  that  had  flut- 
tered greeting  to  him  in  March  were  furled  and  crepe  bedecked 
in  September.  The  cheers  of  spring  became  the  sobs  of  autumn- 
Grief  had  usurped  the  place  of  joy. 

As  with  solemn  and  cadenced  tread  the  procession  moved 
down  the  avenue,  the  people  recognized  as  one  of  the  mourners 
their  former  President,  Grover  Cleveland,  who  had  come  to  pay 
his  tribute  to  his  successor.  They  recognized,  too,  their  iie\? 
President,  upon  whom  the  responsibilities  of  Chief  Executive  had 
been  thrust  so  unexpectedly.  With  silent  salute  they  greeted 
him,  and  with  them  he  mingled  his  tears  in  sorrow  for  the  dead. 

Among  the  hundreds  of  other  distinguished  persons  who 
were  in  attendance  upon  the  funeral  services  were :  Governor 
Gregory,  of  Rhode  Island ;  Governor  Yates,  of  Illinois ;  Governor 
Hill,  of  Maine ;  Governor  Crane,  of  Massachusetts ;  Governor 


IMPRESSIVE  SERVICES  AT  THE  CAPITOL.  333 

Aycock,  of  North  Carolina ;  Governor  White,  of  West  Virginia ; 
Governor  Stickney,  of  Vermont,  and  Governor  Voorhees,  of  New 
Jersey.  Colonel  Stone  represented  the  Governor  of  California, 
and  Colonel  A.  C.  Kauffman,  of  Charleston,  represented  Governor 
McSweeney,  of  South  Carolina,  and  conve3^ed  the  Governor's 
regrets  that  he  was  nnable  personally  to  attend;  District  Commis- 
sioners; J.  Pierpont  Morgan,  of  New  York  ;  John  Kasson,  former 
Special  Reciprocity  Commissioner ;  Pension  Commissioner  Henry 
Clay  Evans.  The  Grand  Master  of  the  Knights  Templar  of  the 
United  States,  was  represented  by  Grand  Junior  Warden  Frank 
H.  Thomas.  Among  the  prominent  women  present  were  Mrs. 
Garret  A.  Hobart,  widow  of  ex-Vice-President  Hobart,  who  was 
escorted  by  her  son,  and  Mrs.  Russel  A.  Alger. 

LAST  LOOK  AT  THE  DEAD  PRESIDENT. 

At  the  conclusion  of  the  funeral  services  in  the  rotunda,  the 
casket  lid  was  removed  in  order  that  the  immediate  friends  of  the 
dead  President  might  be  afforded  the  comfort  of  a  last  glance  at 
his  features,  and  that  the  people  whom  he  loved  and  who  loved 
him  might  pass  the  bier  for  the  same  purpose.  At  half-past  12 
the  crowds  began  to  file  through  the  rotunda,  and  during  the  six 
hours  in  which  the  body  was  lying  in  state,  it  seemed  that  55,000 
people  viewed  the  remains. 

Just  at  i  o'clock  a  frightful  calamity  was  narrowly  averted 
at  the  east  front  of  the  Capitol.  For  hours  the  vast  throng  of 
peopl?  had  been  massed  in  front  of  the  Capitol  awaiting  an  oppor- 
tunity to  enter  the  rotunda.  When  the  doors  were  opened  tens 
of  thousands  of  people  rushed  almost  frantically  to  the  main 
staircase. 

The  police  and  military  guards  were  swept  aside  and  almost 
in  a  twinking  there  was  a  tremendous  crush  at  the  foot  of  the 
great  staircase.  The  immense  throng  swept  backward  and  for- 
ward like  the  surging  of  a  mighty  sea.  Women  and  children,  a 
few  of  the  latter  babes  in  arms,  were  caught  in  the  crowd,  and 
many  were  badly  hurt.  Strong  men  held  children  and  even  women 
high  above  the  heads  of  the  surging  crowd  to  protect  them  from 


334  IMPRESSIVE  SERVICES  AT  THE   CAPITOL. 

bodily  injury.  Despite  the  efforts  of  the  police  and  military  and 
the  cooler  heads  in  the  throng,  approximately  a  hundred  people 
were  inj  ured.  Some  of  the  more  seriously  hurt  were  carried  into 
the  rotunda  and  into  various  adjoining  apartments  of  the  Capitol, 
where  first  aid  treatment  was  given  them.  A  number  were 
hurried  to  hospitals  in  ambulances,  but  the  majority  either  were 
taken  to  or  subsequently  went  unassisted  to  their  homes. 

After  the  crush  had  been  abated  upon  the  staircase  and 
plaza,  immediately  in  front  of  it  were  found  tattered  pieces  of 
men's  and  women's  wearing  apparel  of  all  kinds,  crushed  hats, 
gloves  and  even  shoes,  watches,  pocketbooks,  keys  and  knives 
were  picked  up. 

MORE  THAN  ONE  HUNDRED  FLORAL  OFFERINGS. 

When  the  remains  of  the  dead  President  were  finally  closed 
forever  to  the  view  of  Washington  people,  the  cavalry  escort 
again  was  formed  and  conveyed  them  to  the  special  train  which 
now  is  carryiug  the  body  to  Canton.  The  magnificent  display  of 
floral  offerings,  numbering  no  less  than  125  pieces  and  makiug 
the  most  remarkable  floral  tribute  ever  seen  here,  were  taken  to 
the  station  from  the  Capitol  in  carriages  and  wagons,  and  there 
placed  aboard  a  special  car  which  had  been  provided  for  them. 
Three  sections,  comprising  in  all  twenty  passenger  coaches,  were 
necessary  to  accommodate  all  those  who  accepted  invitations  to 
make  the  journey  to  Canton. 

An  eye-witness  thus  describes  the  impressive  scene : 
"  Early  this  morning  the  chief  officers  of  the  Government, 
civil,  military  and  judicial,  began  to  arrive,  and  many  others 
whose  names  are  familiar  the  world  over  came  singly  and  in 
groups  to  pay  their  tribute  at  his  official  home  to  the  nation's 
illustrious  dead.  Several  members  of  the  diplomatic  corps  in 
court  costume  were  among  the  early  comers.  Ex-President 
Cleveland  and  ex-Secretary  of  War  Larnont  arrived  about  8.30, 
and  were  shown  at  once  to  seats  in  the  Red  Parlor.  The  mem- 
bers of  the  Cabinet  began  to  arrive  soon  after,  and  were  imme- 
diately followed  by  the  members  of  the  Senate  Committee  and  the 


IMPRESSIVE  SERVICES   AT  THE   CAPITOL.  335 

members  of  the  United  States  Supreme  Court,  headed  by  Chief 
Justice  Fuller,  in  their  robes  of  office. 

"  President  Roosevelt  arrived  at  8.50  o'clock,  accompanied  by 
his  wife  and  his  sister,  and  went  immediately  to  the  Blue  Parlor, 
where  they  were  joined  by  the  members  of  the  Cabinet.  The 
President  wore  a  frock  coat,  and  a  band  of  crepe  on  the  left  arm. 
Mrs.  McKinley  arose  earlier  than  usual  to  prepare  for  the  ordeal. 
She  had  rested  quite  well  during  the  night,  but  her  pale  face  told 
plainly  of  her  sufferings.  She  gave  no  sign  of  collapse,  however, 
and  her  physician  confidently  believes  that  she  will  keep  up  her 
strength  and  courage  to  the  end. 

GRAND  ARMY  REPRESENTED. 

"  Senator  Hanna  reached  the  White  House  only  a  short  time 
before  the  procession  was  to  move.  His  face  looked  drawn,  and, 
leaning  heavily  on  his  cane,  it  was  plainly  evident  that  he  was 
suffering.  While  the  men  of  note  were  arriving  at  the  White 
House,  the  funeral  escort,  nnder  command  of  Major  General  John 
R.  Brooke,  was  forming  immediately  in  front  of  the  White  House. 
Besides  regular  soldiers,  sailors  and  marines,  the  escort  was  made 
up  of  a  detachment  of  the  National  Guard,  members  of  the  Grand 
Army  of  the  Republic,  Loyal  Legion  and  kindred  bodies  and 
civic  organizations,  and  representatives  of  all  branches  of  the 
National  Government,  and  the  Governors  of  States  and  their 
staffs. 

"The  public  had  been  astir  early,  and  the  streets  were 
crowded  with  people.  Wire  cables  strung  along  the  entire  route 
of  march  from  the  White  House  to  the  Capitol,  kept  it  clear  for 
the  funeral  procession. 

"  At  precisely  9  o'clock  a  silent  command  was  given,  and  the 
body  bearers  silently  and  reverently  raised  to  their  stalwart 
shoulders  the  casket  containing  all  that  was  mortal  of  the  illus- 
trious dead.  They  walked  with  slow,  cadence  step,  and,  as  they 
appeared  at  the  main  door  of  the  White  House,  the  Marine  Band, 
stationed  on  the  avenue  opposite  the  mansion,  struck  up  the 
hymn  the  dead  President  loved  so  well,  "  Nearer,  My  God,  to 


336  IMPRESSIVE  SERVICES  AT  THE  CAPITOL. 

Thee."  There  was  perfect  silence  throughout  the  big  mansion, 
and  as  the  last  sad  strain  of  the  music  died  away  the  throng  in 
the  building  lifted  their  heads,  but  their  eyes  were  wet 

"  As  the  hearse  moved  away,  the  mourners  from  the  White 
House  entered  carriages  and  followed  the  body  on  its  march  to 
the  Capitol,  where  the  funeral  services  were  to  be  held.  It  was 
thought  early  in  the  morning  that  Mrs.  McKinley  might  feel 
strong  enough  to  attend  the  services  there,but  it  was  finally  decided 
that  it  would  be  imprudent  to  tax  her  vitality  more  than  was 
absolutely  necessary,  and  so  she  concluded  to  remain  in  her  room 
under  the  immediate  care  of  Dr.  Rixey,  Mrs.  Barber,  her  sister, 
and  her  niece,  Miss  Barber. 

BUGLE  SOUNDED  "MARCH." 

"  Slowly  down  the  White  House  driveway,  through  a  fine 
drizzling  rain,  the  solemn  cortege  wound  its  way  down  to  the  gate 
leading  to  the  avenue,  and  halted.  Then  with  a  grand  solemn 
swing  the  artillery  band  began  the  '  Dead  March  from  Saul,'  a 
blast  from  a  bugle  sounded  l  march '  and  the  head  of  the  proces- 
sion was  moving  on  its  way  to  the  Capitol.  The  casket  in  a  black, 
carved  hearse  and  drawn  by  six  coal  black  horses,  caparisoned  in 
black  net  with  trailing  tassels  and  a  stalwart  groom  at  the  head 
of  each,  moved  down  through  the  gateway  and  came  to  a  stand 
alongside  of  the  moving  procession. 

"  Major  General  John  R.  Brooke  was  at  the  head  of  the  line, 
mounted  on  a  splendid  charger.  Behind  him  came  his  aides,  the 
red  coated  artillery  band,  a  squadron  of  cavalry  with  red  and 
white  guidons  limp  in  the  damp  air,  a  battery  of  field  artillery, 
with  the  men  sitting  straight  and  stiff  as  statues,  a  company  of 
engineers,  two  battalions  of  coast  artillery  and  a  detachment  of 
tht  hospital  corps.  Then  came  the  naval  contingent  of  the  first 
section,  headed  by  the  Marine  Band,  who  were  followed  by  a  bat- 
talion of  marines  and  one  of  sailors  from  the  North  Atlantic  squad- 
ron, very  picturesque  and  strong. 

"  As  the  National  Guard  of  the  District  of  Columbia  brought 
Up  the  rear  of  the  first  section  of  the  parade,  the  civic  section  of 


IMPRESSIVE  SERVICES  AT  THE  CAPITOL.  337 

the  procession  marched  into  line.  It  was  under  command  of  Gen- 
eral Henry  V.  Boynton  as  Chief  Marshal,  and  comprised  detach- 
ments from  the  Military  Order  of  the  Loyal  Legion,  the  Regular 
Army  and  Navy  Union,  the  Union  Veteran  Legion,  the  Spanish 
War  Veterans  and  the  Grand  Army  of  the  Republic.  As  these 
veterans  of  the  Civil  War  passed  the  waiting  hearse  wheeled 
slowly  into  line,  the  guards  of  honor  from  the  army  and  navy  took 
up  positions  on  either  side  of  the  hearse,  and  the  funeral  cortege 
proper  took  its  appointed  place  behind  a  delegation  of  the  Grand 
Army  of  the  Republic. 

"Close  behind  the  hearse  came  a  carriage  in  which  were 
seated  ex-President  Grover  Cleveland,  Rear  Admiral  Robley  D. 
Kvans  and  General  John  Wilson.  In  a  carriage  drawn  by  four 
fine  black  horses  coming  next  were  President  Roosevelt,  Mrs. 
Roosevelt  and  Commander  W.  S.  Cowles,  the  President's  brother- 
in-law.  Then  followed  a  line  of  carriages  bearing  all  the  members 
of  the  Cabinet,  a  number  of  ex-members  and  behind  them  the 
diplomatic  corps. 

BETWEEN  SILENT  THRONGS. 

"  Solemnly  the  funeral  party  wound  down  past  the  Treasury- 
Building  and  into  the  broad  sweep  of  Pennsylvania  avenue  amid 
a  profound  silence  that  was  awful  to  those  who  only  six  months 
ago  had  witnessed  the  enthusiastic  plaudits  which  greeted  the 
dead  man  as  he  made  the  same  march  to  assume  for  a  second 
time  the  honors  and  burdens  of  the  Presidential  office. 

"  The  artillery  band  played  a  solemn  dirge  as  it  with  slow 
steps  led  the  sorrowful  way  down  the  avenue.  All  the  military 
organizations  carried  their  arms,  but  with  colors  draped  and  furled. 
The  crowds  were  silent.  All  were  sad,  mournful  and  oppressive. 
The  people  stood  with  heads  uncovered,  and  many  bowed  in 
apparently  silent  prayer  as  the  hearse  passed  along.  A  slow 
drizzling  rain  was  falling. 

"  After  the  carriages,  in  which  were  the  diplomats,  followed 
a  long  line  of  others  containing  the  Justices  of  the  Supreme  Court, 
the  Senate  and  House  committees  appointed  to  attend  the  funeral^ 


338  IMPRESSIVE   SERVICES   AT   THE   CAPITOL. 

the  local  judiciary,  the  assistant  secretaries  of  the  several  execu- 
tive departments,  members  of  the  various  Government  commis- 
sions and  official  representatives  of  the  insular  governments. 

"The  remainder  of  the  procession  was  composed  of  a  large 
representation  of  local  bodies  of  Knights  Templar,  over  1000 
members  of  the  Grand  Army  of  the  Republic,  the  United  Con- 
federate Veterans  of  the  city  of  Washington  and  of  Alexandria, 
Va.,  various  religious  and  patriotic  societies,  including  the  Sons 
of  the  American  Revolution,  secret  societies  and  labor  organiza- 
tions of  the  city.  Scattered  here  and  there  at  intervals  were  rep- 
resentatives of  out-of-town  organizations,  including  the  Ohio 
Republican  Club,  the  Republican  Club  of  New  York  city,  the 
New  York  Italian  Chamber  of  Commerce  and  of  the  New  York 
Board  of  Trade  and  Transportation,  the  New  York  Democratic 
Honest  Money  League  and  the  Southern  Manufacturers'  Club  of 
Charlotte,  N.  C. 

THE  ORGANIZATIONS  IN  THE  PROCESSION. 

1{  The  Military  Order  of  the  Loyal  Legion,  of  which  Presi- 
dent McKinley  was  an  honored  member,  with  a  representation  from 
the  New  York  and  Pennsylvania  Commanderies,  formed  a  con- 
spicuous part  in  this  procession,  as  also  did  the  Knights  Templar 
of  this  city  and  of  Alexandria,  Va.,  and  a  battalion  of  the  uniform 
rank  Knights  of  Pythias.  The  full  force  of  the  letter  carriers  of 
Washington,  each  with  a  band  of  black  crepe  on  his  arm,  walked 
to  the  solemn  tread  of  the  dirge. 

"At  10.12  o'clock  the  head  of  the  procession  arrived  at  the 
north  end  of  the  Capitol  plaza,  but  instead  of  swinging  directly 
into  the  plaza  and  passing  in  front  of  the  Capitol,  as  usually  is 
done  on  the  occasion  of  Presidential  inaugurations,  the  military 
contingent  passed  eastward  on  B  street,  thence  south  on  First 
street,  Bast.  Headed  by  Maj  or-General  John  R.  Brooke  and 
staff  and  the  Fifth  Artillery  Corps  Band,  the  troops  swept  around 
to  the  south  end  of  the  plaza,  and  then  marched  to  position  front- 
ing the  main  entrance  to  the  Capitol.  As  soon  as  they  had  been 
formed  at  rest,  the  artillery  band  on  the  left  and  the  Marine  Band 


IMPRESSIVE  SERVICES  AT  THE  CAPITOL  339 

on  the  right  of  the  entrance,  the  funeral  cortege,  with  its  guard 
of  honor,  entered  the  plaza  from  the  north.  As  the  hearse  halted 
in  front  of  the  main  staircase  the  troops,  responding  to  almost 
whispered  commands,  presented  arms. 

uThe  guard  of  honor  ascended  the  steps,  the  naval  officers 
on  the  right  and  the  army  officers  on  the  left,  forming  a  cordon 
on  each  side,  just  within  the  ranks  of  the  artillerymen,  seamen 
and  marines. 

"  As  the  eight  sturdy  body-bearers,  four  from  the  army  and 
four  from  the  navy,  tenderly  drew  the  flag-draped  casket  from  the 
hearse,  the  band  sweetly  wailed  the  pleading  notes  of  '  Nearer, 
My  God,  to  Thee.'  Every  head  in  the  vast  attendant  throng  was 
bared.  Tear  bedimmed  eyes  were  raised  to  Heaven  and  a  silent 
prayer  went  up  from  the  thousands  of  hearts.  With  careful  and 
solemn  tread  the  body-bearers  began  the  ascent  of  the  staircase 
with  their  precious  burden,  and  tenderly  bore  it  to  the  catafalque 
in  the  rotunda." 

UNPRECEDENTED  DISPLAY  OF  MOURNING. 

The  display  of  mourning  for  the  death  of  President  McKin- 
ley  was  one  of  the  most  remarkable  demonstrations  that  this 
country  has  ever  witnessed.  The  testimony  of  regret  and  sorrow 
for  the  late  Chief  Magistrate,  and  the  expression  of  detestation  for 
the  hateful  blow  which  removed  him  from  a  post  of  usefulness, 
were  universal  and  sincere.  The  evidences  of  genuine  deep 
sorrow  were  apparent  on  every  hand,  in  every  city  and  hamlet  in . 
the  land,  and  grief  at  the  cruel  blow  penetrated  every  patriotic 
household,  and  affected  every  right-minded  man  in  the  country. 

The  emblems  of  mourning  which  are  displayed  in  profusion 
on  business  houses,  private  dwellings,  public  buildings  and  at  all 
the  haunts  of  men  were  not  merely  the  trappings  of  woe — the 
sign  of  a  perfunctory  observance  of  the  decencies  and  proprieties 
of  the  occasion.  They  were  the  eager,  voluntary,  true  expressions 
of  the  feeling  everywhere  prevalent.  There  probably  never  was 
a  more  genuine,  spontaneous  national  outburst  of  emotion.  In 
this  wonderful  expression  of  feeling  great  influence  is  uudoubt- 


340  IMPRESSIVE  SERVICES  AT  THE  CAPITOL 

edly  exerted  by  the  character  and  traits  of  the  gentle  man,  who 
possessed  a  singularly  winning  and  healthy  nature,  and  exempli- 
fied in  his  life  the  wholesome  and  admirable  Christian  virtues 
which  are  the  real  safeguards  of  a  nation. 

The  manner  and  circumstance  of  his  taking  off ;  the  infamous 
character  and  the  deliberate,  malignant,  base  method  of  the 
inhuman  assassin ;  the  innocence  of  the  victim,  which  should 
have  rendered  him  safe  from  attack,  and  the  fine  and  noble  bear- 
ing of  the  sufferer  when  the  inevitable  end  came — all  conspired 
to  awaken  the  best  sentiments  of  the  whole  country.  But  in 
addition  to  all  of  these  contributing  causes  to  the  universal 
expression  of  grief,  there  was  a  cause  for  indignation  and  sorrow 
of  equal  force.  An  enemy  to  free  government  aimed  a  blow  at 
the  Republic  and  struck  down  the  Chief  who  was  the  choice  of 
the  people. 

THE  WHOLE  PEOPLE  ATTACKED. 

A  malignant  attack  was  made  upon  the  whole  people  in  the 
person  of  the  Chief  Magistrate  who  represented  in  his  high  office 
the  majesty,  power  and  dignity  of  the  nation,  and,  consciously  or 
unconsciously,  all  citizens  throughout  the  land  were  not  only 
expressing  their  grief  and  sorrow  at  the  grievous  blow  which  had 
fallen  upon  a  good  and  true  man,  but  were  showing  their  detesta- 
tion of  a  foul  blow  directed  against  the  Republic,  and  offering  the 
strongest  testimony  of  their  unalterable  devotion  to  that  Govern- 
ment, by  and  for  the  people,  which  was  never  more  strongly 
entrenched  in  the  hearts  of  its  people  than  it  is  to-day. 

From  an  observer  of  the  great  demonstration  at  the  Capitol 
we  furnish  the  reader  with  the  following  graphic  account : 

;i  Washington,  curiously  composite  city  as  to  its  humanity,  is 
used  to  public  spectacle.  It  is  as  much  a  part  of  its  life  to-day  as 
it  must  have  been  with  the  temple  cities  of  Egypt,  three  thousand 
years  ago.  Now  it  is  an  inauguration,  now  the  departure  of  great 
ones,  now  the  home-coming  of  victors,  now  a  funeral.  It  has,  in 
fact,  the  parade  habit,  and  consequently  its  emotions  are  some- 
what blunted  by  overweai. 


IMPRESSIVE  SERVICES  AT  THE  CAPITOL.  341 

*'  But  it  always  can  be  counted  on  for  enough  of  feeling  to 
make  the  meaning  of  its  presence  on  the  streets  seem  real.  On 
either  side  of  the  portico  are  masses  of  votive  wreaths  and  flowers 
in  every  form  to  give  color  to  the  eye  and  perfume  to  the  air. 
Officers  of  the  army  and  navy  are  ascending  the  steps  and  greet- 
ing each  other  decorously. 

"  Admiral  Dewey,  in  his  full  uniform,  bland  of  face  and  light 
of  movement,  stops  to  talk  with  the  swarthy  Rear  Admiral 
Crowniii shield,  and  the  tall  form  of  Rear  Admiral  Bradford  joins 
the  group.  Melville,  Rear  Admiral,  too,  shows  his  long  woolly 
white  hair  and  beard.  And  Rear  Admiral  O'Neill,  clean  cut  of 
face  and  figure,  is  greeting  Rear  Admiral  Watson,  a  small,  clean 
shaven  man.  General  Otis,  tall,  ruddy  faced,  and  General 
Gillespie,  of  fine  figure  and  white  mustache,  are  having  a  word. 
It  strikes  one  that  all  our  generals  and  admirals  are  on  in  years, 
and  one  thinks  of  the  days  of '64  and  '65,  when  the  great  com- 
manders were  men  in  the  early  forties  and  under.  Among  the 
major  generals  there  is  Fitzhugh  Lee,  stout,  stalwart,  but  aging. 

POTENTATES,  FRIENDS   AND  ADMIRERS. 

"The  waiting  catafalque  in  the  centre,  beneath  the  dome, 
one  notes  on  entering,  is  set  about  with  chairs  in  segments  of  the 
circle,  eight  segments,  with  about  one  hundred  chairs  in  each. 
A  small  harmonium  is  near  the  head  of  the  catafalque,  which,  on 
a  low  back  platform,  stands  about  two  feet  high.  It  is  draped  in 
black  cloth,  and  all  around  are  great  pieces  of  flowers  from  foreign 
potentates,  from  States  and  cities,  from  friends  and  admirers. 

"  The  import  of  the  scene  is  heavy  in  the  larger  sense  on 
each  one  gathering  there,  but  the  spell  of  it  is  not  so  deep  as  it 
was  at  Buffalo,  where  the  personal  feeling  was  fresher  and  deeper. 
The  men  here  have  seen  great  tragedies  and  great  struggles,  and 
were  part  of  them.  The  whispered  talk  turned  mostly  to  the 
event,  but  often  turned  away  as  we  waited  there,  and  this  was 
natural,  and  is  set  down  so  as  to  truly  mirror  the  event.  The 
tragedies  of  history,  the  great  tragedies,  move  in  their  vast 
solemnity  without  reference  to  the  seriousness  or  want  of  it  in 


342  IMPRESSIVE  SERVICES  AT  THE  CAPITOL. 

the  minor  details.     Then  this  was  something  in  a  sense  spec- 
tacular, and  we  are  not  good  at  spectacles. 

"  It  is  10  o'clock  and  the  chairs  are  filling.  After  well  known 
faces  appear  '  Fighting  Bob'  Evans  shows  his  shrewd  face  among 
the  naval  men.  A  handful  of  Senators  come  from  the  Senate 
Chamber — only  six  at  first,  though  others  drift  in  later.  Senator 
Allison,  gray  bearded,  looking  like  a  mild  version  of  General 
Grant ;  Senator  Clapp,  of  Minnesota,  with  his  likeness  to  the 
strong  faced  John  A.  Logan  ;  Senator  Culloni,  of  Illinois,  rough 
bearded,  but  shaven  of  the  upper  lip,  in  the  style  of  1860  ;  Senator 
Nelson,  lumbering  and  rustic  looking.  After  them  comes  former 
Senator  Gorman,  of  Maryland,  clear  of  eye,  sharp  of  outline  and 
lithe  of  movement.  General  Alger  and  his  wife  have  coine  in, 
and  with  them  former  Postmaster-General  Gary. 

•WOMEN  IN  FULL  MOURNING. 

*c  Women  are  drifting  quietly  in  through  many  doors,  all 
mostly  in  full  mourning  or  wearing  black  hats  and  skirts,  with 
white  waist  and  a  very  chic  crepe  band  and  bow  on  the  left  arm 
above  the  elbow.  The  Rev.  Mr.  Powers,  who  preached  the  fun- 
eral sermon  at  Garfield's  funeral  here,  a  man  of  pale  minis- 
terial face  with  a  small  white  mustache,  is  seated  with  his 
memories. 

"  A  delegation  of  the  House  of  Representatives  comes  in. 
c  Joe '  Cannon,  with  his  knotty  face  and  chin  whisker ;  Amos  J. 
Cummings,  whose  eyes  are  bright  as  ever,  but  whose  mustache  is 
whitening  ;  Hopkins,  of  the  Ways  and  Means,  reddish  and  alert 
and  much  chatted  to.  Whitelaw  Reid,  former  Minister  to  France, 
thoughtful  looking,  comes  in  slowly,  Bishop  Satterlee  is  seated 
beside  an  army  man. 

"  Around  runs  a  whisper,  for  Grover  Cleveland,  twice  Presi- 
dent of  the  United  States  and  the  only  living  former  President, 
is  entering.  He  looks  well  and  slightly  tanned,  something  thin- 
ner than  when  he  was  at  the  White  House,  and  also  showing  the 
march  of  whitening  time.  He  sits  beside  Rear  Admiral  Robley 
D.  Evans,  Whispers  run  that  Cleveland  in  all  his  eight  years 


IMPRESSIVE   SERVICES   AT  THE   CAPITOI.  S43 

was  constantly  on  the  lookout  for  assassination  when  he  was  out 
of  doors. 

"At  twenty  minutes  to  eleven  o'clock  a  bugle  call  is  heard  in 
the  court  without.  It  is  evidently  a  signal,  for  almost  simul- 
taneously the  active  heads  of  the  government  enter.  President 
Roosevelt,  with  Mrs.  Roosevelt,  in  deep  mourning,  011  his  arm, 
and  his  son  and  two  daughters  following,  head  the  Hue.  Mrs. 
Roosevelt  walks  with  sympathetically  bowed  head,  her  coming  a 
woman's  gracious  tribute  to  the  widow  of  her  husband's  pre- 
decessor. The  Cabinet,  headed  by  Secretaries  Hay  and  Gage, 
with  Secretary  Root  and  Attorney  General  Knox  follow. 

THE  SECRETARY  OF  STATE. 

"  Mr.  Hay  looks  white  and  far  from  strong,  but  evidently 
steeling  himself  for  a  ceremony  certain  to  bring  his  own  recent 
bereavement — the  loss  of  his  son — painfully  before  him.  His 
dark  beard,  with  its  powdering  of  white,  his  parted  hair  and 
glasses  give  him  a  stern,  autocratic  look,  far  from  his  bearing  of 
the  moment.  Abner  McKinley,  very  pale,  poor  man  !  and  leading 
his  wife,  heads  the  family  party  from  the  White  House,  where 
Mrs.  McKinley  remains  for  the  afternoon — her  last  in  the  home 
of  the  Presidents.  Senator  Hanna,  still  pale  and  shaken,  is  with 
the  family  party. 

"  There  is  a  breath  of  music,  the  music  of  the  oft-played 
hymn,  heard  from  without,  a  ring  of  feet  on  the  marble  pavement, 
and  the  guard  of  honor  enter  from  the  east  porch,  followed  by  the 
eight  men  bearing  the  late  President's  coffin,  now  wholly  covered 
with  an  American  flag,  on  which  are  piles  of  beautiful  white  roses. 
Slowly  the  bearers  turn  and  lay  their  burden  down,  the  head  to 
the  west  and  the  feet  to  the  rising  sun. 

"  While  the  attendants  are  arranging  matters  about  the 
catafalque,  the  Ambassadors,  Ministers  and  attaches  of  the  for- 
eign legations  enter,  two  and  two,  their  bright  uniforms  give  an 
extra  dash  of  color  to  the  gathering.  Senor  Aspiroz,  the  Mexican 
Minister,  his  dark  uniform  coat,  a  perfect  dazzle  of  gold  lace,  dark 
skinned  and  strong  faced,  gazes  sympathetically  about.  The 


344  IMPRESSIVE   SERVICES  AT  THE   CAPITOL. 

Turkish  and  English  attaches  give  vivid  reds  and  greens  to  the 
picture. 

"  Minister  Wu,  in  his  Chinese  garb,  beams  kindly  over  his 
spectacles.  He  comes  from  a  land  where  sudden  deaths  have  been 
much  enforced  of  late.  He  wears  a  black  faced,  conical  cap,  with 
a  scarlet  crown  and  a  gold  button  on  the  top.  The  Spanish  and 
Portuguese  Ministers  are  in  diplomatic  uniforms,  heavily  laced 

with  gold. 

THE  SOUTH  FULLY  REPRESENTED. 

"  Still  people  are  coming.  Senator  Tillman,  General  Jere- 
miah Wilson  and  General  Longstreet,  of  Confederate  fame,  are 
entering,  and  there  is  the  new  Acting  Vice-President,  William  B. 
Frye,  of  Maine,  his  mild  blue  eyes  blinking  in  the  light.  He  has 
an  earnest  face  and  an  appealing  expression.  Mrs.  Garret  A. 
Hobart  and  her  son  are  seated  close  together.  James  G.  Elaine,  Jr., 
and  his  wife  are  there.  Senator  Chauncey  M.  Depew  and 
Senator  Platt,  of  New  York,  are  across  the  aisle.  With  the 
former  is  J.  Pierpont  Morgan.  They  chat  earnestly.  Stephen  B. 
Elkins  and  Senator  Cockrell  are  noted,  but  one  would  have  to  call 
a  very  long  roll  to  tell  of  them  all. 

"  At  a  few  minutes  before  eleven  the  double  quartet  near  the 
harmonium  sang  '  Lead,  Kindly  Light.'  With  fine  clearness  of 
tone  the  Rev.  Henry  R.  Naylor,  presiding  elder  of  the  Methodist 
Church,  led  in  a  heartfelt  prayer,  only  a  word  or  two  of  which 
reached  mortal  ears  at  any  distance  from  the  speaker  on  account 
of  the  mocking  echoes  from  the  dome. 

"  Then  Mrs.  Thomas  C.  Noyes,  of  Washington,  sang,  with  a 
soprano  voice  of  great  clearness,  volume  and  wide  range,  the  hymn 
'  Some  Time  We'll  Understand.'  Mrs.  Noyes  sang  with  great 
feeling  and  effect,  bringing  tears  to  the  eyes  of  not  a  few.  She 
made  a  pretty  picture,  dressed  in  black  and  wearing  a  picture  hat, 
with  long  black  feather,  and  a  high  lace  collar  of  a  square  cut. 
Nervous  for  the  first  few  notes,  as  well  she  might  be,  her  face 
as  she  went  on  became  a  study  of  ingenuous  earnestness  while 
her  clear  notes  ran  like  birds  diving  on  high  above  our  heads. 

"  Bishop  Andrews,  of  the  Methodist  Church,  followed  in  an. 


IMPRESSIVE  SERVICES  AT  THE  CAPITOL.  348 

address  that  lasted  some  fifteen  minutes.  He  was  fluent  and 
earnest,  and  looked  very  like  Senator  Hoar,  but  the  bafHing 
echoes  once  more  took  up  the  discourse,  and,  exaggerating  what 
may  be  called  the  ministerial  tone  of  the  prelate,  produced  a 
strange  effect.  After  the  singing  of  *  Nearer,  My  God,  to  Thee,' 
in  which  nearly  all  present  joined  in  subdued  tone,  producing  a 
touching  effect,  a  brief  blessing  was  given  by  the  Rev.  W.  H. 
Chapman.  With  extended  hands  and  uplifted  eyes  he  prayed  for 
mercy  and  peace  and  light,  and  so  the  service  came  to  an  end. 

"  Not  many  minutes  had  passed  before  all  had  departed  save 
the  guard,  under  the  charge  of  Colonel  Bingham.  The  attend- 
ants rearranged  the  chamber  for  the  popular  view  of  the  remains. 
The  chairs  disappeared,  except  a  line  each  side  from  east  to  west. 
On  these  were  laid  the  floral  offerings.  When,  therefore,  the  lid 
had  been  lifted  from  the  head  of  the  coffin  the  people  passed 
between  a  lane  of  costly  flowers,  each  of  which  told  a  tale. 

"  Looking  out  upon  the  multitude  now  waiting  under  a 
drizzling  rain,  it  seemed  as  if  there  were  fifty  thousand  umbrellas 
in  sight  where  a  short  time  before  a  flower  bed  of  humanity  met 
the  view.  There  was  much  crowding  and  pushing  a  while,  but  at 
length  it  was  straightened  out  and  the  stream  kept  flowing  through 
the  hall  until  the  time  came,  with  the  evening  lights,  to  close  the 
coffin  lid  to  Washington  forever." 


CHAPTER      XVIII. 

Eloquent  Eulogy  on  the  Dead  President— Floral  Offerings — 
Great  Crush  to  View  the  Remains — Distinguished  Per- 
sons Present. 

THE  funeral  services  at  the  Capitol  over  the  remains  of  the 
late  President  McKinley  were  simple  and  beautiful.  They 
were  of  the  form  prescribed  in  the  Methodist  Church.  Two 
hymns,  a  prayer,  an  address  and  a  benediction  comprised  all  of 
it ;  yet  the  impression  left  at  the  end  was  of  perfection. 

The  people  were  slow  in  gathering.  Among  the  first  comers 
were  the  army  officers.  General  Randolph,  Chief  of  Artillery, 
and  in  charge  of  the  military  arrangements  at  the  Capitol,  was 
first  among  these,  and  soon  afterwards  came  General  Gillespie, 
Chief  of  Engineers,  and  General  Fitzhugh  Lee.  Soon  the  num- 
ber of  officers  became  too  great  to  distinguish  between  them,  and 
the  rotunda  began  to  light  up  with  dashes  of  gold  lace  and  gilt 
buttons  and  flashing  sword  scabbards,  scattered  through  the 
soberly  dressed  crowd  of  civilians. 

Before  10  o'clock  the  latter  had  assembled  in  such  numbers 
as  to  fill  the  greater  part  of  the  seating  space  not  reserved  for  the 
persons  in  the  funeral  procession,  who  were  to  enter  the  rotunda. 

Just  at  10  o'clock  Admiral  Dewey  made  his  appearance,  ac- 
companied by  General  Otis,  General  Davis  and  General  Ruggles. 
He  glanced  over  the  scene  within,  and  then  took  up  his  station  at 
the  eastern  entrance,  where  he  was  joined  by  the  other  members 
of  the  guard  of  honor. 

Mrs.  Hobart,  with  her  son,  and  Mrs.  Russell  A.  Alger, 
escorted  by  Colonel  Hecker,  also  entered  during  this  time  of  waiting. 
The  clergymen  and  the  choir,  the  latter  from  the  Metropolitan 
Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  which  Mr.  McKinley  attended,  filed 
in,  and  were  seated  at  the  head  of  the  catafalque.  At  twenty 
minutes  to  n  o'clock  the  Cabinet  entered,  and  were  seated  to  the 

346 


EULOGY  BY    BISHOP  ANDREWS.  3ti 

south  of  the  platform  ;  and  then  to  the  strains  of  *  'Nearer,  My 
God,  To  Thee,"  by  the  Marine  Band  outside,  the  casket  was 
borne  into  the  rotunda.  General  Gillespie  and  Colonel  Binghani 
led  the  way,  and  every  one  arose.  The  guard  of  honor  on  either 
side  separated,  and  the  casket  was  placed  gently  upon  the 

catafalque. 

THE  FAMILY  GROUP. 

Next  came  members  of  the  family  of  the  deceased,  Abner 
McKinley  leading.  They  were  seated  near  the  head  of  the  casket. 
Mrs.  McKinley  was  not  present.  Senator  Hanna  was  with  the 
family  party.  Next  the  diplomatic  corps  entered,  all  in  full 
court  regalia,  and  were  seated  to  the  south.  Former  President 
Cleveland,  with  General  Wilson,  his  escort,  sat  in  the  first  row. 

Lastly  came  President  Roosevelt,  escorted  by  Captain  Cowles, 
and  preceded  by  Mr.  Cortelyou,  secretary  to  the  President.  He 
was  given  a  seat  at  the  end  of  the  row  occupied  by  the  Cabinet, 
just  south  of  the  casket.  Mr.  Roosevelt's  face  was  set,  and  he 
appeared  to  be  restraining  his  emotions  with  difficulty. 

When  the  noise  occasioned  by  seating  the  late  comers  had 
ceased  a  hush  fell  upon  the  people,  and  then  the  choir  softly  sang 
"Lead,  Kindly  Light,"  Cardinal  Newman's  divine  anthem,  while 
every  one  stood  in  reverence. 

At  the  conclusion  of  the  hymn  Rev.  Dr.  Henry  R.  Naylor. 
Presiding  Elder  of  the  Washington  District  of  the  Methodist 
Episcopal  Church,  delivered  the  invocation,  while  the  distinguished 
company  listened  with  bowed  heads.  Dr.  Naylor  said  : 

"Oh,  Lord  God,  our  Heavenly  Father,  a  bereaved  nation 
cometh  to  Thee  in  its  deep  sorrow ;  to  whom  can  we  go  in  such 
an  hour  as  this  but  unto  Thee.  Thou  only  art  able  to  comfort 
and  support  the  afflicted. 

"  Death  strikes  down  the  tallest  and  best  of  men,  and  conse- 
quent changes  are  continually  occurring  among  nations  and 
communities.  But  we  have  been  taught  that  Thou  art  the  same 
yesterday,  to-day  and  forever ;  that  with  Thee  there  is  no  variable- 
ness nor  the  least  shadow  of  turning.  So  in  the  midst  of  our  grief 
we  turn  to  Thee  for  help. 


848  EULOGY  BY  BISHOP  ANDREWS. 

"We  thank  Thee,  O,  Lord,  that  years  ago  Thou  didst  give 
unto  this  Nation  a  man  whose  loss  we  mourn  to-day.  We  thank 
Thee  for  the  pure  and  unselfish  life  he  was  enabled  to  live  in  the 
midst  of  so  eventful  an  experience.  We  thank  Thee  for  the  faith- 
ful and  distinguished  services  which  he  was  enabled  to  render  to 
Thee,  to  our  Country  and  to  the  world. 

"  We  bless  Thee  for  such  a  citizen,  for  such  a  lawmaker,  for 
such  a  Governer,  for  such  a  President,  for  such  a  husband,  for 
such  a  Christian  example  and  for  a  friend. 

:<  But,  O,  Lord,  we  deplore  our  loss  to-day  ;  sincerely  implore 
Thy  sanctifying  benediction.  We  pray  Thee  for  that  dear  one  who 
has  been  walking  by  his  side  through  the  years,  sharing  his  tri- 
umphs and  partaking  of  his  sorrows.  Give  to  her  all  needed 
sustenance  and  the  comfort  her  stricken  heart  so  greatly  craves. 
And  under  the  shadow  of  this  great  calamity  may  she  learn,  as 
never  before,  the  Fatherhood  of  God,  and  the  matchless  character 
of  His  sustaining  grace, 

PRAYER  FOR  THE  NEW  PRESIDENT. 

"And,  O,  Lord,  we  sincerely  pray  for  him  upon  whom  the 
mantle  of  Presidential  authority  has  so  suddenly  and  unexpectedly 
fallen.  Help  him  to  walk  worthy  the  high  vocation  whereunto  he 
has  been  called.  He  needs  Thy  guiding  hand  and  Thy  inspiring 
spirit  continually.  May  he  always  present  to  the  nation  and  to  the 
world  divinely  illumined  judgment,  a  brave  heart  and  an  unsul- 
lied character. 

"  Hear  our  prayer,  O,  Lord,  for  the  official  family  of  the 
Administration,  those  men  who  are  associated  with  Thy  servant, 
the  President,  in  the  administration  of  the  affairs  of  government  • 
guide  them  in  all  their  deliberations,  to  the  nation's  welfare  and 
the  glory  of  God. 

"And  now,  Lord,  we  humbly  pray  for  Thy  blessing  and  con- 
solation to  come  to  all  the  people  of  our  land  and  nation.  Forgive 
our  past  shortcomings,  our  sins  of  omission  as  well  as  our  sins  of 
commission.  Help  us  to  make  the  Golden  Rule  the  standard  of 
our  lives,  that  we  may  'do  unto  others  as  we  would  have  them  do 


EULOGY    BY  BISHOP  ANDREWS.  349 

unto  us,'  and   thus  become,   indeed,  a  people  whose  God  is  the 
Lord. 

"  These  things  we  humbly  ask  in  the  name  of  Him  who 
taught  us,  when  we  pray,  to  say  :  '  Our  Father,  which  art  in 
heaven,  Hallowed  be  Thy  name.  Thy  kingdom  come.  Thy  will 
be  done  in  earth  as  it  is  in  heaven.  Give  us  this  day  our  daily 
bread,  and  forgive  us  our  trespasses  as  we  forgive  them  that  tres- 
pass against  us.  And  lead  us  not  into  temptation,  but  deliver  us 
from  evil,  for  Thine  is  the  kingdom  and  the  power  and  the  glory, 
forever.  Amen.' " 

MOST  EFFECTIVE  MUSIC. 

As  the  pastor  ceased,  the  voices  of  the  choir  swelled  forth 
and  the  rich,  pure  soprano  notes  of  Mrs.  Thomas  C.  Noyes  led  the 
hymn,  "Sometime  We'll  Understand."  The  music  was  remarka- 
bly effective  and  touching  as  the  notes  came  back  in  soft  echoes 
from  the  fulness  of  the  dome  overhead.  As  soon  as  the  hymn 
ceased,  Bishop  Edward  G.  Andrews,  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal 
Church,  who  had  come  from  Ohio  to  say  the  last  words  over  the 
remains  of  his  lifelong  friend  and  parishioner,  arose;  He  stood  at 
the  head  of  the  casket  and  spoke  in  sympathetic  voice,  and  with 
many  evidences  of  deep  emotion.  The  acoustic  qualities  of  the 
rotunda  do  not  favor  such  addresses,  and,  although  the  bishop  spoke 
in  clear  and  firm  tones,  the  rippling  echoes  from  all  sides  made  it 
difficult  for  those  a  short  distance  from  him  to  catch  his  words, 
The  bishop  said: 

"  Blessed  be  the  God  and  Father  of  our  Lord,  Who  of  His 
abundant  mercy  hath  begotten  us  again  unto  a  lively  hope  by 
the  resurrection  of  Christ  from  the  dead,  to  an  inheritance  uncor- 
ruptible, undefiled,  and  that  fadeth  not  away,  reserved  in  heaven 
for  us,  by  the  power  of  God  through  faith  unto  salvation,  ready 
to  be  revealed  in  the  last  time. 

"  The  services  for  the  dead  are  fitly  and  almost  of  necessity 
services  of  religion  and  of  immortal  hope.  In  the  presence  of  the 
shroud  and  the  coffin  and  the  narrow  home,  questions  concerning 
intellectual  cjuality,  concerning  public  station,  concerning 


850  EULOGY  BY  BISHOP  ANDREWS. 

great  achievements,  sink  into  comparative  insignificance,  and 
questions  concerning  character  and  man's  relation  to  the  Lord 
and  Giver  of  life,  even  the  life  eternal,  emerge  to  our  view 
and  impress  themselves  npon  us. 

"  Character  abides.  We  bring  nothing  into  this  world,  we  can 
carry  nothing  out.  We,  ourselves,  depart  with  all  the  accumulations 
of  tendency  and  habit  and  quality  which  the  years  have  given  to  us. 
We  ask,  therefore,  even  at  the  grave  of  the  illustrious,  not  altogether 
what  great  achievement  they  had  performed, [and  how  they  had  com- 
mended themselves  to  the  memory  and  affection  or  respect  of  the 
world,  but  chiefly  of  what  sort  they  were,  what  the  interior  nature 
of  the  man  was,  what  were  his  affinities.  Were  they  with  the 
good,  the  truth,  the  noble  ?  What  his  relation  to  the  infinite  Lord 
of  the  universe  and  to  the  compassionate  Savior  of  mankind  ; 
what  his  fitness  for  that  great  hereafter  to  which  he  had  passed. 

HIS  HIGH  ACHIEVEMENTS. 

"  And  such  great  questions  come  to  us  with  moment,  even  in 
the  hour  when  we  gather  around  the  bier  of  those  whom  we  pro- 
foundly respect  and  eulogize  and  whom  we  tenderly  love.  In  the 
years  to  come,  the  days  and  the  months  that  lie  immediately 
before  us,  will  give  full  utterance  as  to  the  high  statesmanship 
and  great  achievements  of  the  illustrious  man  whom  we  mourn 
to-day.  We  shall  not  touch  them  to-day.  The  nation  already  has 
broken  out  in  its  grief  and  poured  its  tears,  and  is  still  pouring 
them,  over  the  loss  of  a  beloved  man.  It  is  well.  But  we  ask 
this  morning  of  what  sort  this  man  is,  so  that  we  may,  perhaps, 
knowing  the  moral  and  spiritual  life  that  is  past,  be  able  to  shape 
the  far- with  drawing  future. 

"  I  think  we  must  all  concede  that  nature  and  training,  and, 
reverently  be  it  said,  the  inspiration  of  the  Almighty  con- 
spired to  conform  a  man  admirable  in  his  moral  temper  and  aims. 
We,  none  of  us  can  doubt,  I  think,  that  even  by  nature  he  was 
eminently  gifted.  The  kindly,  calm  and  equitable  temperament, 
the  kindly  and  generous  heart,  the  love  of  justice  and  right,  and 
the  tendeney  toward  faith  aud  loyalty  to  unseen  powers  and 


EULOGY  BY  BISHOP  ANDREWS.  351 

authorities  these  things  must  have  beeu  with  him  from  his 
childhood,  from  his  infancy  ;  but  upon  them  supervened  the 
training,  for  which  he  was  always  tenderly  thankful,  and  of  which 
even  this  great  nation,  from  sea  to  sea,  continually  has  taken 
note. 

"  It  was  an  humble  home  in  which  he  was  born.  Narrow  con- 
ditions were  around  him  ;  but  faith  in  God  had  lifted  that  lowly 
roof,  according  to  the  statement  of  some  great  writer,  up  to  the 
very  heavens  and  permitted  its  inmates  to  behold  the  things 
eternal,  immortal  and  divine;  and  he  came  under  that  training. 

HIS  FILIAL  AFFECTION. 

"  It  is  a  beautiful  thing  that  to  the  end  of  his  life  he  bent 
reverently  before  that  mother  whose  example  and  teaching  and 
prayer  had  so  fashioned  his  mind  and  all  his  aims.  The  school 
came  but  briefly,  and  then  came  to  him  the  Chuich  with  a  minis- 
tration of  power.  He  accepted  the  truth  which  it  taught.  He 
believed  in  God  and  in  Jesus  Christ,  through  whom  God  was 
revealed.  He  accepted  the  divine  law  of  the  Scripture  ;  he  based 
his  hope  on  Jesus  Christ,  the  appointed  and  only  Redeemer  of 
men  ;  and  the  Church,  beginning  its  operation  upon  his  character 
at  an  early  period  of  his  life,  continued  even  to  its  close  to  mould 
him.  He  waited  attentively  upon  its  ministrations. 

"He  gladly  partook  with  his  brethren  of  the  symbols  of 
mysterioiis  passion  and  redeeming  love  of  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ. 
He  was  helpful  in  all  those  beneficences  and  activities  ;  and  from 
the  Church,  to  the  close  of  his  life,  he  received  inspiration  that 
lifted  him  above  much  of  the  trouble  and  weakness  incident  to 
our  human  nature,  and  blessings  be  to  God,  may  we  say,  in  the 
last  and  final  hour  they  enabled  him  confidently,  tenderly  to  say, 
'  It  is  His  Will,  not  ours,  that  will  be  done.' 

"  Such  influences  gave  to  us  William  McKinley.  And  what 
was  he  ?  A  man  of  incorruptible  personal  and  political  integrity. 
I  suppose  no  one  ever  attempted  to  approach  him  in  the  way  of  a 
bribe ;  and  we  remember,  with  great  felicitation  at  this  time  for 
such  an  example  to  ourselves,  that  when  great  financial  difficul- 


362  EULOGY  BY  BISHOP  ANDREWS. 

ties  arid  perils  encompassed  him,  lie  determined  to  deliver  all  he 
possessed  to  his  creditors,  that  there  should  be  no  challenge  of  his 
perfect  honesty  in  the  matter.  A  man  of  immaculate  purity,  shall 
we  say  ?  No  stain  was  upon  his  escutcheon  ;  no  syllable  of  sus- 
picion that  I  ever  heard  was  whispered  against  his  character.  He 
walked  in  perfect  and  noble  self-control. 

"  Beyond  that,  this  man  has  somehow  wrought  in  him — I 
suppose  upon  the  foundations  of  a  very  happily  constructed 
nature — a  great  and  generous  love  for  his  fellow  men.  He 
believed  in  men.  He  had  himself  been  brought  up  among  the 
common  people.  He  knew  their  labors,  struggles,  necessities. 
He  loved  them  ;  but  I  think  beyond  that  it  was  to  the  Church 
and  its  teachings  concerning  the  Fatherhood  of  God  and  universal 
brotherhood  of  man  that  he  was  indebted  for  that  habit  of  kind- 
ness, for  that  generosity  of  spirit,  that  was  wrought  into  his  very 
substance  and  became  him  so  that,  though  he  was  of  all  men  most 
courteous,  no  one  ever  supposed  but  that  courtesy  was  from  the 

heart. 

A  MAN  OF  LARGE  HEART. 

"  It  was  spontaneous,  unaffected,  kindly,  attractive,  in  a  most 
eminent  degree.  What  he  was  in  the  narrower  circle  of  those 
to  whom  he  was  personally  attached,  I  think  he  was  also  in  the 
greatness  of  his  comprehensive  love  toward  the  race  of  which  he 
was  a  part.  If  any  man  had  been  lifted  up  to  take  into  his  pur- 
view and  desire  to  help  all  classes  and  conditions  of  men,  all 
nationalities  beside  his  own,  it  was  this  man.  Shall  I  speak  a 
word  next  of  that  which  I  will  hardly  avert  to — the  tenderness  of 
that  domestic  love,  which  has  so  often  been  commented  upon  ?  I 
pass  it  with  only  that  word.  I  take  it  that  no  words  can  set  forth 
fully  the  unfaltering  kindness  and  carefulness  and  upbearing  love 
which  belonged  to  this  great  man. 

"  And  he  was  a  man  who  believed  in  right  ;  who  had  a  pro- 
found conviction  that  the  courses  of  this  world  must  be  ordered 
in  accordance  with  everlasting  righteousness,  or  this  world's 
highest  point  of  good  will  never  be  reached  ;  that  no  nation  can 
expect  success  in  life  except  as  it  conforms  to  the  eternal  love  of 


EULOGY   BY   BISHOP  ANDREWS.  353 

the  infinite  Lord,  and  places  itself  in  individual  and  collective 
activity  according  to  the  Divine  will.  It  was  deeply  ingrained 
in  him  that  righteousness  was  the  perfection  of  any  man  and  of 
any  people. 

"  Simplicity  belonged  to  him.  I  need  not  dwell  upon  it,  and 
I  close  the  statement  of  these  qualities  by  saying,  that,  under- 
lying all  and  overreaching  all,  and  penetrating  all,  there  was  a 
profound  loyalty  to  God,  the  great  King  of  the  universe,  the 
author  of  all  good,  the  eternal  hope  of  all  that  trust  in  Him. 

PATIENT  AND  THOROUGH. 

"  And  now,  may  I  say,  further,  that  it  seemed  to  me  that  to 
whatever  we  may  attribute  all  the  illustriousness  of  this  man, 
all  the  greatness  of  his  achievements  ;  whatever  of  that  we  may 
attribute  to  his  intellectual  character  and  quality  ;  whatever  of  it 
we  may  attribute  to  the  patient  and  thorough  study  which  he 
gave  to  the  various  questions  thrust  upon  him  for  attention  ;  for 
all  his  successes  as  a  politician,  as  a  statesman,  as  a  man  of  this 
great  country,  those  successes  were  largely  due  to  the  moral 
qualities  of  which  I  have  spoken. 

"  They  drew  to  him  the  hearts  of  man  everywhere,  and  par- 
ticularly of  those  who  best  knew  him.  They  called  to  his  side 
helpers  in  every  exigency  of  his  career,  so  that,  when  his  future 
was  at  one  time  likely  to  have  been  imperiled  and  utterly  ruined 
by  his  financial  conditions,  they  who  had  resources,  for  the  sake 
of  helping  a  man  who  had  in  him  such  qualities,  came  to  his  side 
and  put  him  on  the  high  road  of  additional  and  larger  success. 
His  high  qualities  drew  to  him  the  good  will  of  his  associates  in 
political  life  in  an  eminent  degree.  They  believed  in  him,  felt 
his  kindness,  confided  in  his  honesty  and  in  his  honor. 

"  His  qualities  even  associated  with  him  in  kindly  relations 
those  who  were  political  opponents.  They  made  it  possible  for 
him  to  enter  that  land  with  which  he,  as  one  of  the  soldiers  of  the 
Union,  had  been  in  some  sort  of  war,  and  to  draw  closer  the  tie 
that  was  to  bind  all  the  parts  in  one  firmer  and  indissoluble 
union.  They  commanded  the  confidence  of  the  great  body  of 

23 


354  EULOGY    BY   BISHOP  ANDREWS. 

Congress,  so  that  they  listened  to  his  plans  and  accepted  kindly 
and  hopefully  and  trustfully  all  his  declarations. 

"  His  qualities  gave  him  reputation,  not  in  this  land  alone 
but  throughout  the  world,  and  made  it  possible  for  him  to  minister 
in  the  style  in  which  he  has  within  the  last  two  or  three  years 
ministered  to  the  welfare  and  peace  of  human  kind.  It  was  out 
of  the  profound  depths  of  his  moral  and  religious  character  that 
came  the  possibilities  of  that  usefulness  which  we  are  all  glad  to 
-attribute  to  him. 

"  And  will  such  a  man  die  ?  Is  it  possible  that  He  who 
created,  redeemed,  transformed,  uplifted,  illumined  such  a  man 
will  permit  him  to  fall  into  oblivion  ?  The  instincts  of  morality 
are  in  all  good  men.  The  divine  word  of  the  Scripture  leaves  us 
no  room  for  doubt.  '  I',  said  one  whom  he  trusted,  '  am  the 
resurrection  and  the  life.  He  that  believeth  in  Me,  though  he 
were  dead,  yet  shall  he  live,  and  whosoever  liveth  and  believeth 
in  Me  shall  never  die.' 

LOST  ONLY  TO  EARTH. 

"  Lost  to  us,  but  not  to  his  God.  Lost  from  earth,  but 
entered  heaven.  Lost  from  these  labors  and  toils  and  perils,  but 
entered  into  the  everlasting  peace  and  ever  advancing  progress. 
Blessed  be  God,  who  gives  us  this  hope  in  this  hour  of  calamity 
and  enables  us  to  triumph,  through  Him  who  hath  redeemed  us. 

"If  there  is  a  personal  immortality  before  him,  let  us  also 
rejoice  that  there  is  an  immortality  and  memory  in  the  hearts  of 
a  large  and  ever  growing  people,  who,  through  the  ages  to  come, 
the  generations  that  are  yet  to  be,  will  look  back  upon  this  life, 
upon  its  nobility  and  purity  and 'service  to  humanity,  and  thank 
God  for  it.  The  years  draw  on  when  his  name  shall  be  counted 
among  the  illustrious  of  the  earth.  William  of  Orange  is  not 
dead.  Cromwell  is  not  dead.  Washington  lives  in  the  hearts 
and  lives  of  his  countrymen.  Lincoln,  with  his  infinite  sorrow, 
lives  to  teach  us  and  lead  us  on.  And  McKinley  shall  summon 
all  statesmen  and  all  his  countrymen  to  purer  living,  nobler  aims, 
sweeter  faith  and  immortal  blessedness." 


EULOGY   BY   BISHOP   ANDREWS.  355 


The  address  lasted  only  a  bare  quarter  of  an  hour.  As  the 
bishop  concluded  every  one  in  the  vast  rotunda  rose,  and  the 
choir,  intoning  the  air,  hundreds  of  voices  joined  in  the  grand 
old  hymn,  "Nearer,  My  God,  to  Thee." 

It  was  an  affecting  moment.  In  the  midst  of  the  singing 
Admiral  Robley  D.  Evans,  advancing  with  silent  tread,  placed  a 
beautiful  blue  floral  cross  at  the  foot  of  the  casket. 

The  last  notes  died  away  softly,  and,  with  uplifted  hands, 
the  benediction  was.  pronounced  by  Rev.  Dr.  W.  H.  Chapman, 
acting  pastor  of  the  Metropolitan  Church.  This  ended  the 
religious  service. 

THE  COMPANY  RETIRE. 

There  was  a  pause  for  a  few  minutes  while  the  ushers  cleared 
the  aisles  and  the  assemblage  began  to  withdraw.  First  to  retire 
was  President  Roosevelt,  and  as  he  entered  so  he  left,  preceded  a 
short  distance  by  Major  McCawley  and  Captain  Gilmore,  with 
Colonel  Bingham  and  Captain  Cowles  almost  pressing  against 
him.  The  remainder  of  the  company  retired  in  the  order  in 
which  they  entered,  the  Cabinet  members  following  the  President, 
and  after  them  going  the  Diplomatic  Corps,  the  Supreme  Court, 
Senators  and  Representatives,  officers  of  the  army  and  navy  and 
officials  of  lesser  degree. 

Absolutely  no  attempt  had  been  made  to  drape  the  interior  of 
the  vast  rotunda,  and  save  for  the  black  structure  in  the  centre 
and  a  small  organ,  and  the  floral  pieces  set  against  the  walls 
beneath  the  eight  historical  paintings,  the-  place  presented  its 
usual  aspect  before  the  services  began,  and  there  was  little  to 
encourage  the  half  dozen  photograghers  who  were  early  at  the 
Capitol  in  their  efforts  to  perpetuate  the  scene  at  that  stage. 

The  catafalque  was  exceedingly  simple  in  design.  An  oblong 
platform,  about  nine  by  twelve  feet,  and  raised  but  six  inches 
above  the  floor,  supported  the  bier,  which  was  the  same  plain, 
strong  structure  that  has  been  used  at  the  Capitol  since  Lincoln's 
day  for  state  funerals.  New,  rich  black  broadcloth  covered  it 
completely,  as  well  as  the  platform  and  a  small  reading  stand, 


356  EULOGY  BY  BISHOP  ANDREWS. 

and  the  only  signs  of  ornamentation  about  it  were  the  heavy  black 
tassels  and  the  artistic  drapery  of  the  cloth.  The  catafalque 
occupied  the  centre  of  a  circle  of  perhaps  forty  feet  in  diameter. 
At  the  point  was  placed  a  circular  row  of  cane-seated  chairs  and  a 
dozen  of  such  rows  sufficed  to  fill  out  the  space  remaining  in  the 
rotunda,  excepting  the  four  broad  aisleb  running  toward  the  cardi- 
nal points  of  the  compass. 

The  floral  offerings  were  many  and  beautiful  in  design.  Con- 
spicuous among  the  many  pieces  was  the  great  white  shield  of 
immortelles,  six  feet  in  height,  bearing  the  inscription  in  purple 
flowers  :  "  Tribute  from  the  army  in  the  Philippines,"  above  the 
Eighth  Army  Corps  insignia,  in  red  and  blue. 

OFFERING  OF  WHITE  ROSES. 

As  many  white  roses  as  were  the  years  of  the  dead  President 
was  the  offering  of  Colonel  Bingham  and  the  White  House  em- 
ployes. A  beautiful  simple  wreath  of  laurel  came  from  the 
Nineteenth  Ward  Republican  Committee  of  St.  Louis.  A  splen- 
did sheaf  of  palms,  with  broad  purple  white  ribbons,  and  sur- 
rounded by  a  laurel  sheath,  came  from  the  sister  Republic  of 
Guatemala. 

The  Chinese  residents  of  Philadelphia  sent  a  tall  white  shaft 
of  flowers,  with  a  purple  ribbon  bearing  the  words  :  "  Our  friend 
at  rest,"  and  some  quaint  Chinese  characters  in  gold.  A  beautiful 
wreath  of  purple  orchids,  filled  in  the  centre  with  spreading 
palms,  bore  on  a  silver  plate  this  inscription  :  'To  the  memory 
of  William  McKinley,  President  of  the  United  States,  whose 
noble  character  and  Republican  virtues  will  leave  behind  an  ever- 
lasting trace  in  the  history  of  the  American  world.  Julio  A. 
Roca,  President  of  the  Argentine  Republic." 

Lilies  of  the  valley  and  oak  leaves,  wrought  into  a  wreath, 
represented  Hayti's  gift,  and  crossed  palms,  with  a  card  bearing 
the  one  word,  "Sympathy,"  came  from  Mrs.  John  Addison 
Porter. 

The  Richmond  City  Council  sent  a  magnificent  tribute  in 
the  shape  of  a  mammoth  wreath  of  red  roses  and  ivy  leaves,  tied 


EULOGY   BY   BISHOP   ANDREWS. 


357 


with  the  national  colors.  Light  Battery  A,  Philadelphia  artillery, 
10  sent  a  green  wreath,  embedded  with  orchids,  and  the  Loyal 
Legion  remembered  "Companion  William  McKinley"  through  a 
vast  wreath  of  lilies  and  roses.  Columbia's  tribute  came  through 
Minister  Silva,  in  the  shape  of  a  great  cluster  of  palm  and  purple 
immortelles,  and  nearly  every  inch  of  wall  space  carried  like 
fermgs.  One  of  the  most  effective  of  these  was  the  wreath  of 
palms  and  orchids  from  Mrs.  Garret  A.  Hobart,  herself  not  Ion* 
since  bereaved. 

The  opening  of  the  doors  of  the  rotunda  of  the  Capitol    in 
-der  to  permit  an  inspection  of  the  remains  of  President  McKin 
ey,  caused  a  rush  of  the  vast  throng  that]had  been  congregated  on 
the  east  side  of  the  building  since  early  morning.     The  result 
was  that  many  women  and  children  were  badly  hurt.     The  crowd 
brushed  by  the  police  cordon,  stationed  at  the  foot  of  the  steps   as 
had  been  chaff.     A  terrible  congestion  on  the  Capitol  step< 
and  at  the  entrance  door  followed. 

GREAT  PRESSURE  FROM  THE  CROWD. 

At  the  latter  point  there  was  such   extreme   pressure  that 
imbers  of  women  fainted.     Many  who   thus    became   helpless 
fted  up  bodily  and  carried  out  over  the  heads  of  the  crowd 
while  others,  less  fortunate,   were  trampled  under  foot  and  seri- 
ously bruised.     Of  the  latter,   twelve  or  fifteen  were  taken  into 
:he  Capitol.     The  room  immediately  under  the  rotunda,  where  the 
President's  remains  lay  in  calm  and  peaceful  repose,  was  a  tern- 
porary  hospital,  filled  with  screaming  women,   lying  prone  upon 
improvised  couches. 

One  of  them  had  a  broken  arm  and  another  had  suffered 
iternal  injuries,  which  caused  excruciating  pain.  The  office  of 
the  Captain  of  Police  also  was  used  to  accommodate  the  injured 
as  were  several  other  places  about  the  building.  It  is  estimated 
that  no  fewer  than  fifty  women  and  children  were  injured  to  some 
extent,  but  most  of  them  were  able  to  go  to  their  homes.  A  few 
were  taken  to  the  Emergency  Hospital. 

As  soon  as  the  rotunda  was  cleared  of  those  who  had  been 


358  ,  EULOGY   BY   BISHOP   ANDREWS. 

invited  to  attend  the  religious  services,  the  bier  was  prepared  for 
the  inspection  of  the  general  public.  The  floral  offerings  which 
covered  the  coffin  were  put  aside  and  the  lid  was  lifted  from  the 
head  of  the  coffin,  Some  time  was  required  to  put  things  entirely 
in  order,  and  it  was  half-past  twelve  before  the  throng,  which  had 
been  waiting  from  early  morning  on  the  outside,  was  admitted. 

As  the  coffin  rested  upon  the  catafalque  it  was  just  about 
high  enough  to  permit  of  easy  inspection  by  adults.  The  crowd 
entered  through  the  east  main  door  of  the  Capitol  and  passed  out 
through  the  west  exit.  The  people  came  in  double  file,  one  line 
passing  to  the  right  and  the  other  to  the  left  of  the  casket.  Only 
a  hurried  glance  was  permitted  to  any  one,  as  it  was  announced 
that  the  ceremony  would  close  promptly  at  6.30  o'clock.  When- 
ever there  was  an  attempt  to  linger,  especially  over  the  casket,  as 
there  was  in  many  instances,  the  person  making  it  was  admon- 
ished by  the  Capitol  police  to  "pass  on." 

HURRIED  PAST  THE  CASKET. 

When  they  still  remained  they  were  pushed  along.  In  this 
way  about  130  people  were  enabled  to  review  the  remains  every 
minute.  The  pressure  from  the  outside  was  terrific.  Many 
women  and  children  fainted,  and  others  were  more  or  less  hurt. 
The  crowd  consisted  of  men,  women  and  children,  and  all  colors 
and  ages  were  represented.  Many  children  were  carried  through 
the  building  in  the  arms  of  their  parents.  As  the  body  of  the 
dead  President  lay  in  state  it  was  guarded  by  representatives  of 
all  branches  of  the  nation's  martial  service,  under  the  command 
of  General  W.  F.  Randolph,  Chief  of  Artillery.  Directly  at  the 
head  of  the  casket  stood  a  marine,  who  faced  another  at  the  foot. 

On  each  side  of  these  two  sentinels  the  crowd  passed.  On 
either  side  of  the  marine  at  the  head  stood  an  artilleryman,  while 
the  marine  at  the  foot  of  the  casket  was  flanked  by  seamen. 
Other  artillerymen,  seamen  and  marines  formed  a  lane  through 
which  the  people  passed.  Back  of  them  on  either  side  was  a  line 
of  floral  pieces.  There  were  over  a  hundred  of  these.  The  whole 
scene  was  photographed  scores  of  times.  Apparently  the  throng 


EULOGY   BY   BISHOP  ANDREWS.  359 

was  in  an  apprehensive  state  of  mind,  for  every  time  a  flashlight 
picture  was  taken  piteous  screams  were  heard  from  the  people 
about  the  entrance. 

Washington,  Sept.  17. — Ex-President  Grover  Cleveland, 
accompanied  by  Vice  President  Lament,  of  the  Northern  Pacific 
Railroad,  Mr.  Cleveland's  Secretary  of  War,  arrived  in  Wash- 
ington to-day  to  participate  in  the  obsequies  of  the  late  President. 
They  reached  here  at  4.05  o'clock  this  morning  in  Mr.  Lament's 
private  car  "  Yellowstone,"  which  Mr.  Cleveland  boarded  at 
Princeton  Junction  last  night.  The  two  arose  shortly  after  7 
o'clock,  and  breakfasted  on  the  car.  Mr.  Cleveland  refused  to  see 
callers,  and  to  a  newspaper  man,  who  sought  an  interview,  he  sent 
word  that  he  had  nothing  to  say. 

THEY  REPORT  TO  THE  PRESIDENT. 

General  John  M.Wilson,  retired,  formerly  chief  of  engineers, 
and  Rear  Admiral  Robley  D.  Kvans,  of  the  navy,  who  had  been 
designated  to  take  charge  of  the  ex-President,  arrived  at  the 
station  shortly  before  8  o'clock,  and  immediately  reported  to  the 
former  President.  The  latter  was  sitting  in  the  observation  part 
of  the  car,  smoking  and  awaiting  the  party.  He  wore  a  Prince 
Albert  suit,  with  silk  hat,  and  carried  his  gloves  in  his  hands. 
He  chatted  for  a  few  minutes  with  General  Wilson  over  the 
arrangements,  expressing  his  earnest  desire  to  participate  in  them, 
and  then  the  party  made  their  way  down  the  long  platform  and 
out  on  the  street.  There  was  a  crowd  in  the  depot,  and  most  of 
them  recognized  him  instantly  and  saluted  him.  A  path  had  to 
be  made  for  him  through  the  waiting  room.  The  party  were 
driven  first  to  Admiral  Evans'  home,  and  then  to  the  White 
House,  where  they  arrived  shortly  before  the  time  the  cortege  was 
scheduled  to  move. 

In  foreign  countries  there  were  unusual  demonstrations  of 
sorrow.  The  Bank  of  England  exhibited  for  signature  a  mem- 
orial of  the  "  Bankers,  Merchants  and  Traders  of  the  City  of 
London,"  expressing  sorrow  at  President  McKinley's  death, which 
Mr.  Choate,  the  United  States  Ambassador,  was  asked  to  forward 


360  EULOGY    BY   BISHOP   ANDREWS. 

to  the  people  of  the  United  States  and  Mrs.  McKinley.  The 
Rothschilds,  the  Barings,  the  South  African  Chartered  Company 
and  all  the  greatest  financial  houses  signed  the  memorial. 

Colonel  Sir  William  James  Colville,  the  King's  Master  of 
Ceremonies,  called  on  Mr.  Choate  and  placed  his  services  at  the 
Ambassador's  disposal  in  connection  with  the  reception  of  the 
Diplomatic  Corps  at  Westminster  Abbey,  Thursday,  on  the 
occasion  of  the  memorial  service  in  honor  of  the  late  President  of 
the  United  States. 

The  Cotton  Exchange  and  the  Corn  Exchange  were  ordered 
to  be  closed  on  Thursday,  the  day  of  the  interment  of  the  remains 
of  the  late  President  McKinley  The  Pig  Iron  Exchange  of 
Glasgow,  was  ordered  to  be  closed  Thursday,  when  the  remains 
of  President  McKinley  were  interred  at  Canton,  O. 

MOURNING  IN  PARIS. 

By  invitation  of  General  Horace  Porter,  the  United  States 
Ambassador  at  Paris,  the  resident  and  traveling  Americans  met 
at  his  residence  to  adopt  resolutions  on  the  assassination  of  Presi- 
dent McKinley.  The  attendance  was  numerous,  including  many 
ladies  dressed  in  mourning.  General  Porter  who  had  completely 
recovered  from  his  indisposition,  presided  at  the  meeting.  Senator 
Lodge,  Secretary  Vignaud  and  Consul  General  Gowdy  were  the 
Vice  Presidents.  General  Porter,  in  feeling  terms,  announced 
the  purpose  of  the  meeting.  Senator  Lodge,  in  moving  the  adop- 
tion of  the  resolutions,  eloquently  outlined  the  career  of  the  late 
President  and  his  administration.  The  Senator  alluded  in  grate- 
ful terms  to  the  touching  manifestation  of  sympathy  shown  by  the 
people  of  Paris  and  France  at  the  sorrow  of  the  American 
Republic. 

The  following  resolution  was  voted  :  "  William  McKinley, 
President  of  the  United  States,  is  dead.  He  was  an  eminent 
statesman,  soldier  and  patriot,  a  great  Chief  Magistrate,  whose 
administration  will  stand  out  as  one  of  the  most  eventful  and 
illustrious  in  American  history.  He  has  fallen  at  the  zenith  of 
his  fame,  in  the  height  of  a  great  career,  by  the  hand  of  an 


EULOGY   BY   BISHOP    ANDREWS.  361 

assassin.  The  enormity  of  the  wanton  crime,  measured  by  the 
grievous  loss,  has  brought  sorrow  to  the  Republic  and  all  her 
citizens. 

'We,  Americans,  now  in  Paris,  desire  to  make  a  public  record 
of  the  feeling  which  at  this  hour  of  grief  we  share  with  all  our 
countrymen.  With  them  we  unite  in  profound  sorrow  for  the 
untimely  death  of  President  McKinley,  as  well  as  in  admiration 
of  his  character  as  a  man  and  his  great  public  services,  which  have 
brought  so  much  honor  to  the  Republic. 

"We  wish  to  declare  our  utter  abhorrence  of  the  foul  crime, 
to  which  President  McKinley  fell  a  victim  and  of  the  teachings 
which  produced  it. 

"To  her  to  whom  the  President  gave  a  lifelong  devotion,  as 
pure  as  it  was  beautiful,  we  offer  our  deepest,  heartfelt  sym- 
pathy. 

THEIR  GENEROUS  CONFIDENCE. 

"  To  President  Roosevelt,  called  so  suddenly  and  under  such 
sad  conditions  to  the  Presidency,  we  present  our  sincere  and 
respectful  sympathy,  and  would  also  express  our  generous  confi- 
dence in  the  hope  and  belief  that  his  administration  will  redound 
to  his  own  honor  and  to  the  general  welfare  of  our  country. 

"  We  are  profoundly  grateful  to  the  President  and  people  of 
our  sister  Republic  for  their  quick  sympathy  and  touching  expres- 
sions of  condolence  at  this  moment  of  great  national  sorrow  of  the 
United  States." 

Earlier  in  the  afternoon  the  members  of  the  American  Cham- 
ber of  Commerce  met  and  passed  appropriate  resolutions.  Presi- 
dent Kimbel,  Consul  General  Gowdy  and  Mr.  Seligman,  the 
banker,  spoke  with  much  feeling.  The  resolutions  adopted  were 
cabled  to  the  Secretary  of  State  at  Washington. 

A  tribute  from  William  J.  Bryan  to  the  dead  President  was 
given  to  the  Associated  Press.  Quoting  the  words  of  Major  Mc- 
Kinley, "  God's  will,  not  ours,  be  done,"  Mr.  Bryan  recalled  the 
pathetic  scenes  at  the  deathbed,  and  continued  : 

"  The  terrible  deed  at  Buffalo,  rudely  breaking  the  ties  of 
family  and  friendship  and  horrifying  every  patriotic  citizen. 


362  EULOGY   BY    BISHOP   ANDREWS. 

crowns  a  most  extraordinary  life  with  a  halo  that  cannot  but  exalt 
its  victim's  place  in  history,  while  his  bravery  during  the  trying 
ordeal,  his  forgiving  spirit  and  his  fortitude  in  the  final  hours  give 
glimpses  of  his  inner  life  which  nothing  less  tragic  could  have 
revealed. 

"  But  inexpressibly  sad  as  is  the  death  of  McKinley,  the 
illustrious  citizen,  it  is  the  damnable  murder  of  McKinley,  the 
President,  that  melts  75,000,000  hearts  into  one  and  brings  hush 
to  the  farm,  the  factory  and  the  forum.  The  death,  even  when 
produced  by  natural  causes,  of  a  public  servant  charged  with  the 
tremendous  responsibilities  which  press  upon  a  President  shocks 
the  entire  country,  and  is  infinitely  multiplied  when  the  circum- 
stances attending  constitute  an  attack  upon  the  Government  itself. 
No  one  can  estimate  the  far-reaching  effect  of  such  an  act  as  that 
which  now  casts  a  gloom  over  our  land.  It  shames  America  in 
the  eyes  of  the  world,  it  impairs  her  moral  prestige  and  gives 
enemies  of  free  government  a  chance  to  mock  at  her,  and  it  excites 
an  indignation  which,  while  righteous  in  itself,  may  lead  to  acts 
which  will  partake  of  the  spirit  of  lawlessness. 

MUST  AVENGE  THE  OUTRAGE. 

"As  the  President's  death  overwhelms  all  in  a  common  sor- 
row, so  it  imposes  a  common  responsibility,  namely  :  To  so  avenge 
the  wrong  done  to  the  President,  his  family  and  the  country  as  to 
make  the  Executive  life  secure  without  abridgement  of  freedom 
of  speech  or  freedom  of  the  press." 

King  Edward,  King  Christian,  Queen  Alexandra  and  the 
Empress  Dowager  of  Russia,  surrounded  by  the  princes  and 
princesses  of  their  families,  personally  expressed  in  special  audi- 
ence granted  to  the  United  States  Minister,  Air.  Swenson,  their 
deep  sympathy  and  indignation  at  the  death  of  Mr.  McKinley. 

King  Edward's  closing  words  to  Mr.  Swenson  were  the  fol- 
lowing :  "  Convey  my  heartfelt  sympathy  for  the  loss  of  so  grand 
a  man  to  so  great  a  nation,  a  man  who  was  so  good  a  friend  to 
Great  Britain." 

A  tribute,  entitled  "William  McKinley — An  Appreciation," 


EULOGY    BY   BISHOP   ANDREWS.  363 

written  by  Secretary  John  D.  Long,  was  given  prominence  in  a 
Boston  journal.  In  part  it  said  : 

"  President  McKinley,  of  blessed  life,  is  now,  and  more  and 
more  as  time  goes  on,  will  be  of  blessed  memory.  The  asperi- 
ties which  afflict  a  public  servant  during  his  official  career  will 
quickly  be  forgotten,  and  the  calm,  just  verdict  of  history  will 
pronounce  him  a  man  of  ideally  pure,  true  character,  a  patriot  of 
single  and  disinterested  devotion  to  his  country,  and  a  statesman 
unexcelled  for  tact,  prudence  and  practical  competency.  His 
domestic  life  is  one  of  the  precious  sanctities  of  American  senti- 
ment. 

"As  an  Executive,  his  administration  has  been  a  series  of 
remarkable  achievements.  It  has  been  attended  by  great  mili- 
tary successes,  by  an  abounding  prosperity. 

"  It  has  put  out  the  last  embers  of  sectional  bitterness.  It 
has  been  marked  by  appointments  of  high  character  and  especial 
fitness  to  places  of  great  trust.  The  tone  of  the  public  official, 
the  efficiency  of  the  civil  service,  the  integrity  and  fidelity  of  all 
departments  and  branches  of  the  executive  government  were 
never  so  high  as  to-day. 

"President  McKinley  leaves  an  unblemished  record  in  public 
and  private  life.  And  a  record  not  merely  free  from  blemish,  but 
bright  with  good  deeds  done,  with  great  services  rendered." 


CHAPTER  XIX, 

Last  Funeral  Rites  at  Canton  —  Imposing  Demonstrations- 
Scenes  at  the  Church  —  President  Roosevelt   and  Other 
Distinguished  Mourners. 


WITH  the  going  down  of  the  sun,  on  September  iQth,  the 
body  of  William  McKinley,  late  President  of  the  United 
States,  was  committed  to  the  tomb,  in  the  presence  of  his  suc- 
cessor in  office,  the  chiefs  of  all  departments  of  the  Government, 
and  a  vast  multitude  of  people,  who  fitted  the  cemetery  and  stood 
silently  and  with  bared  heads  while  the  last  words  were  spoken 
and  the  last  honors  were  paid  the  martyred  Chief  Magistrate. 

The  last  scene  of  all  closed  with  the  booming  of  minute 
guns,  varied  by  the  quick,  sharp  report  of  the  nineteen  guns  pre- 
scribed to  salute  the  President,  the  touching  music  of  the  favorite 
hymn  of  the  deceased,  and  finally  by  the  bugle  notes,  reverberat- 
ing over  the  hills,  as  they  sounded  "taps"  —  the  soldier's  good- 
night. All  was  ended.  The  troops,  who  had  marched  to  the 
tomb  slowly,  solemnly,  with  mournful  music  and  drooping  colors, 
were  moved  into  column  while  the  smoke  of  the  guns  still  hung 
among  the  foliage  like  incense,  and  the  bugle  notes  echoed  and 
re-echoed  across  the  fertile  valley  of  the  Nimisilla,  as  if  reluctant 
to  depart. 

The  words  of  command  rang  out  in  strange  contrast  with  the 
suppressed  tones  that  had  so  shortly  directed  the  funeral  move- 
ment, the  bands  struck  up  lively  airs,  the  homeward  march  began 
with  quick  step  and  swinging  gait,  the  iron  jaws  of  the  vault  were 
closed  with  a  snap,  and  William  McKinley  was  alone  with  the 
military  watchers  who  will  guard  his  remains  for  an  indefinite 
period,  and  until  a  permanent  resting  place  is  selected.  The  sun 
sank  below  the  horizon,  and  the  shades  of  night  were  creeping 
over  the  last  scene  in  the  tragedy  that  formed  the  climax  of  the 
late  President's  life  before  the  last  of  the  funeral  procession  left 
the  gates  of  the  cemetery  behind. 
364 


LAST  FUNERAL  RITES  AT  CANTON.  866 

The  day  opened  with  lowering  clouds  that  threatened  to 
envelope  the  closing  scene  with  a  pall'  and  deluge  the  vast  multi- 
tude of  sorrowing  spectators.  Fortunately,  as  the  sun  gained 
ascension  the  clouds  were  dissipated  ;  the  atmosphere,  which  had 
been  damp  and  penetrating,  became  bright  and  cheering,  bringing 
assurances  of  the  best  meteorological  conditions  and  furnishing 
cause  for  popular  rejoicing  and  thanksgiving. 

All  through  the  night  and  early  morning,  trains,  loaded  with 
pilgrims  to  Canton,  rumbled  into  the  stations.  Before  the  morn- 
ing was  far  advanced,  the  streets  were  packed  with  people  of  both 
sexes,  all  sizes  and  conditions,  who  moved  in  solid  mass  about  the 
City  'Hall,  passed  in  orderly  procession  through  the  vault-like 
chamber,  with  its  mournful  drapery  and  its  oppressive  funeral 
light,  where  the  remains  reposed  in  state  and  were  exposed  to 
view  for  the  last  time. 

IN  THE  LITTLE  FRONT  PARLOR. 

The   McKinley   residence  divided  with  the  City  Hall  the 
popular  interest.     The  precious  casket  rested  in  the  little  front 
parlor,  and,  while  none  was   admitted,  all  could  pass  in  silence 
and  gaze  upon  the  house  that  held  it,  surrounded  by  armed  men, 
whose  measured  step  was  the  only  sound  that  disturbed  the  pre- 
vailing quiet.     Crossed  palms,  held  by  black  and  white  ribbons, 
and  fastened  against  the  wall  on  the  right  of  the  door,  were 
only  outward  evidence  of  the  deep  grief  that  overwhelmed 
household,    and   which    weighed   upon   the    bereaved   widow 

William  McKinley. 

The  procession  was  behind  the  time  appointed  m  j 
the  delay   arising  from  the  numerous  organizations  and  large 
numbers  of  those  who  composed  them.     The  escort  was  made  up 
of  the  entire  force  of  the  State  Guards,  many  commandnes  of 
Knights  Templar,  Masonic  lodges  and  posts  of  the  Grand  Army, 
of  which  organizations  the  deceased  was  a  member  ;  survivors 
his  old  regiment,  organizations  from  every  section  of  Ohio,  and 
delegations  from  other  States,  including  their  Governors. 

The   immediate    family,  together  with  the  United  States 


366 


LAST  FUNERAL   RITES  AT   CANTON. 


officials  in  attendance,  the  President,   the   Cabinet,   the  general 
fficers  of  the  army,    headed   by   the    Lieutenant-General,    who 
reached   Canton  ,n  the  evening  ;  the  Rear  Admirals  of  the  navy 
soldiers  and  sailors  who  have  faithfully  guarded  and  born; 
the  remains  from  place  to  place   since  leaving  Buffalo-  Senators 
of  the  United  States  and  Representatives-eleft,  formed  and  fol! 
in  the  same   regulation  order  that  was  observed   in   the 


-^  *»*  ™  «*  to 

in  which  the  services  were  held. 

The  building   was    filled  to  its   utmost  capacity,   and  sur- 
rounded on  the  outside  by  a  vast  multitude,  which  was  held  back 
.  military  escort,  formed  in  Hue  to  await  the  closing  of  the 
ligious  exercises  and  to  make  the  last  march  to  the  cemetery 
th  a  11  the  pomp  and  ceremony  befitting  the  occasion.     Mrs 
.mley  did  not  go  to  the  church.     She  was  desirous  of  follow- 
her  beloved  to  the  end,  but  was  finally  prevailed  upon  to 
remain  at  home  by  her  relatives  and  her  physician. 

PROCESSION  REACHES  THE  CHURCH. 

President  Roosevelt  and  the  members  of  the  family  were  in 

position  directly  in  front  of  the  hearse  as  the  representatives  of  a 

en  nation  and  mourning  people.     The  funeral  procession 

reached  the   church  about   two  o'clock.      The  doors  were  k  p° 

>sed  against  general  admission  until   the  casket  was   in   place 

and  the  relatives  and  official  attendants  were  seated.     The  platform 

from     which    the    regular  .church   services   are   conduced   wa" 

extended  in  order  to  accommodate  the  large  number  of  clergymen 


More  than  one  hundred  clergymen  were  thus  accommodated 
and  formed  a  fitting  background  for  the  many  floral  contribution 
ked  in  front,  and  the  sombre  hangings  that  covered  the  wall 

frltS,  feSt°°n;thatWere  10°Ped  Wkh  br°ad   ^"e  ribbon 
the  pillars  and  the  great  organ.   The  army  and  navy  officers 

consenting  the  special  guard  of  honor,  occupied  the  two  fr0n 
pew,  on  the  nght  and  left  of  the  main  aisle.      The  Preside*    a 


LAST   FUNERAL   RITES   AT   CANTON.  367 

the  head  of  the  second  pew  on  the  right,  the  members  of  the 
Cabinet  sitting  with  him  and  about  him  according  to  their  rank 
in  the  order  of  succession  to  the  Presidency  as  established  by 
Congress  to  meet  a  possible,  but  happily,  it  is  hoped,  a  remote 
contingency. 

The  services  occupied  nearly  an  hour  and  a  half,  and  were 
in  every  sense  appropriate,  their  simplicity  adding  to  their 
impressiveness.  The  music  was  by  a  quartette,  two  male  and 
two  female  voices.  There  was  no  organ  accompaniment  to  con- 
ceal the  sweetness  and  tenderness  of  the  voices,  which  filled  the 
edifice,  floating  harmoniously  across  the  groined  ceiling  and  out 
to  the  auditorium  and  gallery  of  an  annex  to  the  main  building, 
and  which  is  so  constructed  that  it  can  be  made  part  of  it,  as  was 
the  case  at  the  funeral. 

A  BEAUTIFUL  EULOGY. 

The  delivery  of  the  eulogy  by  Rev.  Dr.  Manchester,  pastor, 
friend  and  neighbor  of  the  late  President,  occupied  thirty-five 
minutes,  and  was  a  most  touching  and  beautiful  tribute  to  the 
public  services  and  personal  worth  of  the  deceased.  The  services 
closed  with  singing  "Nearer,  my  God,  to  Thee,"  by  the  quartette. 
When  the  benediction  was  pronounced  the  organ  began  in  mur- 
muring tones  Chopin's  funeral  march,  which  swelled  into  a 
volume  of  melody  as  the  congregation  slowly  moved  from  the 
church  after  the  removal  of  the  casket. 

Upon  emerging  from  the  church  the  remains  were  again 
received  by  the  troops  with  the  prescribed  honors,  the  column  of 
march  was  resumed  and  passing  between  two  lines  of  solid 
humanity  that  stretched  from  the  church  to  West  Lawn  Cemetery, 
every  constituent  unit  of  which  stood  reverently  and  mournfully 
as  the  cortege  passed,  they  were  borne  to  the  tomb. 

The  following  additional  account  of  an  eye-witness  affords  a 
graphic  picture  of  the  solemn  scene  : 

"  As  the  time  approached  for  bearing  the  bpdy  of  the  dead 
President  from  the  McKinley  home  to  the  church  the  little 
cottage  on  North  Market  street  was  the  centre  of  a  vast  con- 


368  LAST  FUNERAL  RITES  AT  CANTON. 

course  of  people.  Regiment  after  regiment  of  soldiers,  acting  as 
guards,  were  in  triple  lines  from  curbs  back  to  the  lawns.  The 
walks  had  been  cleared,  and  the  multitude  took  refuge  on  the 
great  sweep  of  la\vns,  where  they  formed  a  solid  mass  of  human- 
ity, surging  forward  to  the  lines  of  soldiers.  In  front  of  the 
McKinley  cottage  were  drawn  up  the  two  rigid  files  of  body 
bearers — eight  sailors  of  the  navy  and  eight  soldiers  of  the  army — 
awaiting  the  order  to  go  within  and  take  up  the  casket. 

"Just  at  i  o'clock  the  black  chargers  of  the  Cleveland  Troop 
swept  down  the  street,  their  riders  four  abreast,  in  their  brilliant 
Hussar  uniforms,  with  flags  bound  in  crepe,  and  every  saber  hilt 
bearing  its  fluttering  emblem  of  mourning.  Their  coming  was 
the  signal  for  the  approach  of  President  Roosevelt  and  the  mem- 
bers of  the  Cabinet.  The  Presidential  party  moved  up  the  walk 
to  the  entrance  of  the  house  and  formed  in  a  group  to  the  left. 
The  President's  face  looked  very  grave,  and  he  stood  there 
silently,  with  uncovered  head,  awaiting  the  body  of  the  dead 
chieftain. 

MEMBERS  OF  THE  CABINET. 

"  Beside  him  stood  Secretary  Gage,  Secretary  Root,  Secretary 
Wilson  and  Secretary  Hitchcock,  and  just  across  Attorney  General 
Knox,  Postmaster  General  Smith,  Assistant  Secretary  of  State 
Hill,  representing  Secretary  Hay,  and  Secretary  Cortelyou. 
Extending  further  down  the  walk  was  the  guard  of  honor,  the 
ranking  Generals  of  the  army  on  the  right  and  the  chief  figures 
of  the  navy  on  the  left. 

"  Lieutenant-General  Miles,  in  the  full  uniform  of  his  high 
rank,  with  sword  at  side  and  band  of  crepe  about  his  arm, 
stood  alongside  the  members  of  the  Cabinet,  and  with  him  were 
Major-General  Brooke,  Major-General  Otis,  Major-General  Mac- 
Arthur  and  Brigadier-General  Gillespie.  Across  from  them  were 
ranged  Rear-Admiral  Farquhar,  representing  Admiral  Dewey, 
ranking  head  of  the  navy  ;  Rear-Admiral  Crowninshield,  Rear- 
Admiral  O'Neil,  Rear- Admiral  Kenney  and  Brigadier-General 
Heywood,  the  latter  Coinmander-m-Chief  of  the  Marine  Corps. 


LAST  FUNERAL   RITES  AT  CANTON.  369 

Just  inside  the  gate  stood  the  civilian  Honorary  Court,  in  double 
line,  including  Governor  Nash,  of  Ohio  ;  Governor  Caldwell, 
Judge  Williams,  of  the  Ohio  Supreme  Court  ;  Henry  B.  Mac- 
Farland,  President  of  the  Commissioners  of  the  District  of 
Columbia  ;  Mayor  Diehl,  of  Buffalo  ;  Judge  Day,  the  lifelong 
friend  of  the  President ;  Mr.  Milburn,  at  whose  house  he  died, 
and  others  in  civil  life  near  and  dear  to  the  dead  chief.  < 

"  As  the  Presidential  party  came  up,  the  black  chargers  off 
Troop  A  swung  into  battalion  front  facing  the  house,  and  the 
long  line  of  flashing  sabres  advanced  to  salute. 

"Now  the  deep-toned  wail  of  the  church  bells  began,  and 
every  steeple  in  Canton  gave  forth  its  dolorous  plaint.  It  was 
1.15  o'clock,  and  the  time  had  come  for  taking  up  the  body.  A 
brief  private  service  had  been  held  within  the  darkened  chamber, 
Dr.  Manchester  saying  a  prayer  while  the  relatives  gathered 
around,  and  Mrs.  McKinley  listened  from  the  half  open  door  of 
her  adjoining  room.  The  double  file  of  body -bearers  now  stepped 
into  the  room,  and,  raising  their  flag-wrapped  casket  to  their 
shoulders,  bore  it  through  the  open  entrance. 

MAJESTIC  IN  ITS  SILENCE. 

"  A  solemn  hush  fell  upon  the  multitude  as  the  bearers 
advanced  with  measured  tread.  Not  a  bugle  blast  went  up  ;  not 
a  strain  of  the  hymns  the  dead  ruler  had  loved  so  well.  The 
scene  was  majestic  in  its  silence.  As  the  casket  was  borne  along, 
above  the  line  of  heads  could  be  seen  enfolding  Stars  and  Stripes, 
and  on  top  great  masses  of  white  roses  and  delicate  lavender 
orchids.  Tenderly  the  coffin  was  committed  to  the  hearse,  and 
the  silence  was  broken  as  the  order  to  march  passed  from  officer 
to  officer. 

"  The  great  procession  now  took  up  its  mournful  journey, 
passing  under  the  sweep  of  giant  arches  robed  in  black,  between 
two  living  tides  of  humanity  massed  along  the  streets,  covering 
housetops  and  filling  windows.  The  church  bells  still  were 
tolling,  mingling  their  dismal  tones  with  the  cadence  of  the 
funeral  dirge.  Preceding  the  funeral  car  and  forming  the  first 

24 


370  LAST   FUNERAL   RITES   AT   CANTON. 

division  rode  General   Torrance,  National  Commander,  G.  A.  R., 
with  a  long  line  of  grizzled  veterans. 

"  After  them  moved  the  National  Guard  of  the  State  of  Ohio, 
platoon  after  platoon,  under  command  of  General  Charles  A. 
Dick.  Then  came  the  solemn  funeral  cortege,  the  late  Presi- 
dent's favorite  command,  Troop  A,  riding  ahead.  At  the  head 
of  each  of  the  coal  black  horses  drawing  the  hearse  marched  a 
soldier.  The  heads  of  the  horses  bore  tall,  black  plumes,  and 
over  them  were  thrown  long  palls  of  black. 

MILITARY  AND  NAVAL  GUARDS. 

"  At  either  side  of  the  hearse  marched  the  guard  of  military 
and  naval  honor,  the  generals  on  the  right,  led  by  General  Miles, 
and  the  admirals  on  the  left,  led  by  Admiral  Farquhar.  Then 
came  the  long  line  of  carriages  for  the  relatives  and  friends,  and 
after  them  the  innumerable  military  and  civic  organizations  that 
had  assembled  to  pay  this  last  honor  to  the  fallen  chief.  In  the 
line  were  division  after  division  of  Knights  Templar,  Knights  of 
Pythias,  Free  Masons,  Odd  Fellows  and  representatives  of  benefi- 
cial orders,  chambers  of  commerce,  as  well  as  delegations  of  citi- 
zens from  cities  and  towns  throughout  the  State  and  country. 

"  It  was  1.50  o'clock  when  the  procession  passed  the  Court 
House  and  turned  into  Tuscarawas  street  to  the  stately  stone 
edifice  where  the  funeral  service  was  to  be  held.  At  the  church 
entrance  were  drawn  up  deep  files  of  soldiers,  with  bayonets 
advanced,  keeping  a  clear  area  for  the  advancing  casket  and  the 
long  train  of  mourners.  The  hearse  halted,  while  President 
Roosevelt  and  members  of  the  Cabinet  alighted.  Again  they 
grouped  themselves  at  either  side  of  the  entrance,  and,  with 
uncovered  heads,  awaited  the  passing  of  the  casket.  Then  the 
flower  covered  coffin  was  brought  from  the  hearse,  and,  as  it 
passed  within  the  black  draped  entrance,  the  President  and  his 
Cabinet  followed  within  the  edfice.  The  mourners,  too,  passed 
inside  of  the  edifice,  but  the  stricken  widow  was  not  among  them. 
She  had  remained  behind  in  the  old  home,  alone  with  her  grief." 
.  The  scene  witUin  ^e  church  when  the  casket  was  carried  in 


LAST   FUNERAL   RITES   AT  CANTON.  37J 

on  the  brawny  shoulders  of  the  soldiers  and  sailors  was  profoundly 
impressive.  A  black  border,  twenty  feet  high,  relieved  at  intervals 
by  narrow  white  bands,  falling  to  the  floor,  swept  completely 
around  the  interior.  Only  the  gilt  organ  pipes,  back  of  the  pulpit, 
rose  above  it.  The  vestibules  on  either  side  of  the  chancel  lead- 
ing into  the  church  were  black  tunnels,  the  stained  glass  win- 
dows on  either  side  were  framed  in  black  and  the  balcony  of 
the  Sunday-school  to  the  rear,  thrown  open  into  the  church 
by  large  sliding  doors,  was  shrouded  in  the  same  sombre 
colors. 

Graceful  black  streamers  festooned  along  the  arches  of  the 
nave  formed  a  black  canopy  above  the  chancel.  From  this  directly 
above  the  low  flag-covered  catafalque,  on  which  the  casket  was  to 
rest,  hung  a  beautiful  silk  banner,  its  blood-red  and  snow-white 
folds  tied  midway  with  a  band  of  crepe. 

FLORAL  BEAUTIES. 

But  it  was  the  floral  display  at  the  front  of  the  church  which 
filled  the  whole  edifice  with  glory.  The  centre  of  it  all  was  a 
great  wreath  of  American  Beauties,  framing  a  black-bordered  por- 
trait of  President  McKinley.  From  it,  extending  outward  and 
upward,  was  a  perfect  wealth  of  gorgeous  blossoms.  The  effect 
was  as  if  a  great  rushing  wave  of  color  had  broken  into  flowers  at 
the  foot  of  the  bier.  They  extended  up  even  to  the  organ  pipes, 
against  which  lay  four  wreaths,  three  broken  as  if  to  represent 
the  quarters  of  the  moon.  It  was  exquisite.  Words  melt  away 
powerless  before  the  tender  beauty. 

Purple  and  green  were  the  dominant  notes — orchids,  violets, 
palms  and  evergreens  against  the  sombre  background.  There 
were  many  handsome  pieces.  Against  the  walls  on  either  side 
were  floral  flags,  and  upon  the  pulpit  rested  an  urn  in  white  car- 
nations, broken  at  the  base  to  represent  the  water  flowing  from  it. 
At  either  side  of  this  urn  were  the  cross  of  the  Knights  Templar 
and  the  crown  of  the  Knights  of  Pythias,  while  to  the  east  was  the 
square  and  compass  of  Masonry. 

Almost  directly  above  the  support  for  the  coffin  a  sunburst 


372  LAST  FUNERAL  RITES  AT  CANTON. 

of  lights  glittered  like  brilliant  stars  in  a  black  sky.     The  light 
from  without  came  dimly  through  the  stained  glass  windows. 

Under  the  quivering  folds  of  the  starry  banner,  with  the 
lights  shedding  their  effulgence  from  above,  the  fragrance  of  the 
flowers  hovering  all  about,  and  the  music  of  Beethoven's  Grand 
Funeral  March  pulsing  from  the  organ,  the  bod}*  bearers  gently 
lowered  the  flag-draped  and  flower-adorned  coffin  to  its  support. 
Vhe  members  of  the  Loyal  Legion,  Governor  Nash,  Governor 
McMillin,  of  Tennessee,  and  Governor  Longino,  of  Mississipi, 
each  with  his  full  uniformed  staff,  had  already  entered  the  church 
from  the  west  entrance,  and  had  filled  up  the  most  westerly  of 
the  sections  of  pews. 

MEMBERS  OF  THE  SENATE  AND  HOUSE. 

The  members  of  the  Senate  and  the  House  of  Repre- 
sentatives had  preceded  the  coffin  through  the  door  at  the  side 
of  the  chancel  through  which  it  entered.  They  were  ushered 
in  as  at  all  State  ceremonies  by  the  Sergeant-at-Arms  of 
each  bod}7.  Senators  Allison,  of  Iowa,  and  Bate,  of  Tennessee, 
headed  the  Senatorial  representation,  of  which  there  were  about 
forty,  and  Speaker  Henderson  and  Representative  Dalzell  that  of 
the  House,  of  which  more  than  half  of  the  membership  must 
have  been  present. 

The  Congressional  party  filled  up  the  entire  east  section  of 
pews  and  the  rear  half  of  the  two  central  sections.  The  local 
clergymen  occupied  the  seats  below  the  organ,  usually  occupied 
by  the  choir.  All  had  risen  as  the  coffin  was  borne  in. 

The  generals  and  admirals  of  the  army  and  navy,  who  com- 
prised the  guard  of  honor,  in  their  resplendent  uniforms,  followed 
the  body  and  occupied  the  first  pew  on  either  side  of  the  centre 
aisle.  President  Roosevelt  and  the  Cabinet  came  slowly  after. 
All  were  in  black  and  wore  black  gloves.  The  President  took  his 
place  immediately  behind  Lieutenant-General  Miles,  next  the 
centre  aisle  in  the  second  pew  to  the  eastward.  So  close  was  he 
to  the  coffin  he  could  almost  have  leaned  over  and  touched  it. 
The  fourth  pew  from  the  front,  that  always  occupied  by  President 


LAST  FUNERAL  RITES  AT  CANTON.  373 

McKinley,  was  draped  in  black,  and  remained  vacant.  After 
these  had  been  seated,  the  door  leading  into  the  Sunday-school 
was  opened,  and  the  seats  arranged  ^elow,  as  well  as  those  in  the 
balcony,  were  soon  filled  with  the  representatives  of  various 
organizations  and  the  fellow  townsmen  of  the  martyred  President. 
Conspicuous  among  these  were  the  survivors  of  the  Twenty- 
third  Ohio,  President  McKiiiley's  old  regiment,  who  brought  into 
the  church  the  tattered  battle  flags  the  regiment  had  carried 
throughout  the  Civil  War. 

It  was  after  2  o'clock  when  the  quartette  arose  and  lifted  up 
their  voices  with  the  touching  words  of  u  Beautiful  Isle  of  Some- 
where." When  the  sound  of  the  last  line  had  died  away,  Rev. 
O.  B.  Milligan,  pastor  of  the  First  Presbyterian  Church,  in  which 
President  and  Mrs.  McKinley  were  married  thirty  years  ago, 
offered  a  fervent  prayer.  Every  head  within  the  church  bent  in 
solemn  reverence  as  the  invocation  went  up. 

PASSAGES  FROM  THE  BIBLE. 

Dr.  John  A.  Hall,  pastor  of  the  Trinity  Lutheran  Church, 
then  read  from  the  Bible  the  beautiful  iQth  Psalm,  and  Rev.  B.  P. 
Herburck  verses  41  to  58  of  the  twenty-fifth  chapter  of  i  Cor- 
inthians. With  great  feeling  he  read  the  inspiring  words  telling 
of  the  mystery  that  all  would  not  sleep,  but  all  be  changed. 

The  quartette  then  sang  Cardinal   Newman's  grand  hymn, 
the  beautiful  words  floating  through  all  the  church, 
"  Lead,  kindly  light,  amid  the  encircling  gloom." 

Dr.  C.  B.  Manchester  then  delivered  an  address,  which  lasted 
twenty-four  minutes,  on  the  life  of  the  late  President  and  the 
lessons  taught  by  his  noble  character  and  death. 

Bishop  I.  W.  Joyce,  of  Minneapolis,  followed  with  a  brief 
prayer,  and  the  services  were  concluded  with  the  singing  of  the 
hymn  which  President  McKinley  repeated  on  his  deathbed, 
"  Nearer,  My  God,  to  Thee  ;  Nearer  to  Thee."  The  entire  con- 
gregation arose  and  joined  in  the  last  stanza.  Father  Valtmau, 
of  Chicago,  chaplain  of  the  Twenty-ninth  Infantry,  pronounced 
the  benediction.  Then  the  notes  of  the  organ  again  arose.  The 

i  - 


374  LAST  FUNERAL  RITES  AT  CANTON. 

coffin  was  taken  up  and  borne  from  the  church.  The  relatives 
and  those  in  official  life,  went  out  in  the  order  they  had  entered. 
It  was  shortly  after  three  o'clock  when  the  silent  and  anxious 
throngs  outside  the  church  saw  the  solemn  pageant  reappear 
through  the  church  doors.  First  came  the  guard  of  military 
and  naval  honor,  the  generals  and  admirals,  forming  in  double 
line  leading  from  the  entrance  to  the  waiting  hearse.  Again  the 
flag-draped  casket  with  its  wealth  of  flowers,  appeared,  and  was 
committed  to  the  hearse.  The  President  and  members  of  the 
Cabinet  followed,  arm  in  arm,  and  stepped  into  the  waiting  car- 
riages. The  relatives  entered  carriages  next.  Then  the  squad- 
ron of  troopers  broke  from  their  battalion  front  and,  wheeling 
into  platoons,  took  up  the  march  to  the  grave. 

SORROWFUL  FACES  EVERYWHERE. 

In  the  long  line  of  carriages  were  United  States  Senators  and 
members  of  the  House  of  Representatives  from  every  section  of 
the  country,  Justices  of  the  United  States  Supreme  Court,  the 
ranking  heads  of  the  army  and  navy,  governors  of  States  and 
mayors  of  cities,  and  the  dead  President's  fellow  townsmen.  Out 
Tuscarawas  street  the  long  procession  moved  through  a  section  of 
the  city  where  the  sound  of  the  dirge  had  not  before  been  heard. 
But  it  presented  the  same  sorrow-stricken  aspect  that  had  been 
observed  in  the  heart  of  the  city.  Funeral  arches  spanned  the 
street,  some  of  them,  it  is  understood,  having  been  erected  by 
school  children.  The  houses  were  hung  with  black  and  even  the 
stately  elms  along  the  way  had  their  trunks  enshrouded  in  black 
and  white  drapery. 

Rev.  O.  B.  Milligan,  pastor  of  the  First  Presbyterian  Church 
of  Canton,  delivered  the  invocation,  which  was  as  follows  : 

"  O  God,  our  God,  our  nation's  God,  Thou  God  and  Father 
of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  the  Father  of  Mercies  and  God  of  all 
comfort  we  have  entered  the  courts  of  Thy  house  to-day  with 
bowed  and  burdened  hearts.  In  Thy  inscrutable  providence  Thou 
hast  permitted  this  great  calamity  to  come  upon  us.  Truly  '  Thy 
ways  are  in  the  deep,  and  Thy  paths  in  the  mighty  waters.'  We 


LAST   FUNERAL   RITES   AT   CANTON.  375 

bow  in  meekness  before  this  exhibition  of  Thy  sovereignty,  and 
own  Thy  right  to  do  as  Thou  wilt  in  the  armies  of  heaven  and 
amongst  the  sons  of  men.  But  blessed  be  Thy  name;  Thy 
sovereignty  over  us  is  the  sovereignty  of  love. 

"Thou  art  our  Father,  and  'like  as  a  father  pitieth  his 
children,  so  the  Lord  pitieth  them  that  fear  him.'  Thou  hast  so 
revealed  Thyself  to  us  in  Thy  Word,  but  especially  in  Jesus 
Christ,  who  was  the  brightness  of  Thy  glory  and  the  express 
image  of  Thy  person.  Therefore,  O  Lord,  we  can  the  more  cheer- 
fully submit  to  the  doings  of  Thy  hand  and  heart. 

"  We  can  say  with  him  whom  we  so  deply  mourn,  '  This  is 
God's  way;  His  will,  not  ours,  be  done.'  and,  whilst  we  cannot 
understand  Thy  gracious  purposes  in  this  dispensation,  help  us, 
Lord,  to  wait  in  patient  confidence,  assured  that  Thou,  who  art 
Thine  own  interpreter,  will  reveal  Thy  thoughts  of  peace  and 
purposes  of  mercy  in  this  great  mystery.  In  this  spirit  help  us 
to  accept  this  providence  and  still  to  trust  Thee. 

CAUSES  FOR  THANKSGIVING. 

"  We  thank  Thee,  O  Lord,  for  this  life  which  has  been  taken 
so  rudely  from  us.  We  thank  Thee  for  Thy  servant's  endow- 
ments and  achievements.  We  thank  Thee  for  the  evidences  that 
he  was  chosen,  of  Thee,  for  great  purposes  in  this  world,  and  for 
the  splendid  way  in  which,  by  Thy  grace,  these  purposes  were 
wrought  out  in  his  life.  Adorned  by  Thee,  we  thank  Thee  for  what 
he  was  in  himself,  in  his  home,  in  society,  in  Church  and  State  and 
national  relations.  We  bless  Thee  for  the  inspiration  of  his 
example,  and  we  rejoice  that,  though  dead,  his  influence  for  good 
will  ever  live  among  us.  Blessed  be  Thy  Name,  in  the  temple  of 
American  honor  another  is  written  among  the  immortals.  Help 
us  all,  O  Lord,  to  see  in  his  life  the  divine  possibilities  of  life, 
and  to  strive  for  a  like  fidelity  as  we  go  forward  to  meet  life's 
appointments. 

"Vouchsafe,  we  pray  Thee,  all  needful  blessings  to  our 
nation  in  this  season  of  sore  bereavement.  Thou  knowest,  O 
God,  how  this  blow  has  struck  every  heart,  how  this  sorrow 


376  LAST   FUNERAL   RITES  AT  CANTON. 

pierces  every  soul.  The  nation  is  dotted  with  sackcloth  and 
bowed  with  grief.  Our  land  is  full  of  mourning,  our  hearts  are 
heavy  with  an  inexpressible  and  almost  unendurable  sorrow. 

"Surely  Thou  hast  stricken  us  in  Thy  sore  displeasure,  for 
Thou  dost  not  afflict  willingly  ;  Thou  dost  not  delight  in  punish- 
ment. O,  that  Thou  wouldst  help  us  to  search  our  hearts  to  seek 
out  even  the  hidden  depths  and  springs  of  wickedness,  to  rid  us 
of  the  evil,  that  the  abundant  favor  of  our  God  may  be  returned 
to  us,  and  that  the  sublime  things  we  hope  for,  in  our  nation'? 
future,  may  be  realized.  And  until  we  have  discovered  the  evil 
and  rooted  it  out,  let  not  Thy  goodness  depart  from  us. 

"In  afflicting,  O  Lord,  be  merciful.  Remember  not  our  sins 
against  us  and  visit  us  in  the  plentitude  of  Thy  grace. 

PRAYER  FOR  THE  NEW  PRESIDENT. 

"Vouchsafe,  we  pray  Thee,  the  fullness  of  Thy  grace  to 
Thy  servant,  who  has  so  unexpectedly  been  inducted  into  the 
solemn  responsibilities  of  the  office  of  Chief  Magistrate.  May  he 
be  endowed  with  all  needed  gifts  to  administer  the  Govern ment 
to  the  glory  and  the  welfare  of  this  great  people.  Give  him  Thy 
protection  from  secret  foes  and  unworthy  friends.  Fill  his  heart 
with  Thy  fear  and  give  him  the  confidence  and  love  of  the  nation. 

"And  now,  O  Lord,  trustfully  do  we  commit  to  Thy  infinite, 
tender  and  gracious  care,  she  who  has  been  most  bitterly  bereaved. 
Tender  as  are  our  hearts  toward  her  in  this  sad  hour ;  passing 
tender  as  was  her  husband's  heart  toward  her,  as  together  they 
passed  through  all  the  scenes  of  joy  and  sorrow  which  were 
appointed  them  in  life,  may  the  heart  of  God  be  more  tender  still. 
Bind  her  round  with  the  sufficient  consolations  of  Thy  presence 
and  grace  ;  and,  as  by  faith,  she  leans  upon  the  unseen  arm  of 
the  Infinite,  may  she  ever  find  Thee  a  present  help  in  time  of 
need. 

"  Sanctify  this  dispensation  to  us  all.  May  we  hear  it  in  the 
voice  of  the  Eternal,  crying,  'All  flesh  is  grass,  and  all  the  godli- 
ness thereof  as  the  flower  of  the  field.  The  grass  withereth,  the 
flower  fadeth,  but  the  word  of  our  God  will  stand  forever,'  Help 


LAST   FUNERAL    RITES   AT   CANTON.  377 

us  that  we  may  diligently  improve  this  providence  to  our  growth 
in  grace,  and  in  the  saving  knowledge  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ. 
By  Thy  grace,  dear  Lord,  prepare  us  all  for  life's  duties  and 
trials,  of  the  solemnities  of  death  and  for  a  blessed  immortality. 
These,  and  every  other  needed  blessing,  we  plead  for  in  the  name 
of  Him  who  taught  us  to  pray  : 

"'Our  Father,  which  art  in  heaven,  Hallowed  by  Thy  name. 
Thy  Kingdom  come.  Thy  will  be  done  in  earth  as  it  is  in  heaven. 
Give  us  this  day  our  daily  bread.  And  forgive  us  our  trespasses  as 
we  forgive  those  who  trespass  against  us.  Andlead  us  not  into  temp- 
tation, but  deliver  us  from  evil,  and  Thine  to  be  the  power,  and  the 
glory,  forever  and  ever.  Amen.'  " 

TOUCHING  ADDRESS  BY  McKINLEY'S  PASTOR, 

The  address  of  Rev.  C.  E.  Manchester,  President  McKinley's 
pastor,  was  as  follows  : 

"  Our  President  is  dead.  The  silver  cord  is  loosed,  the 
golden  bow  is  broken,  the  pitcher  is  broken  at  the  fountain,  the 
wheel  broken  at  the  cistern.  The  mourners  go  about  the  streets. 
One  voice  is  heard — a  wail  of  sorrow  from  all  the  laud,  for  'The 
beauty  of  Israel  is  slain  upon  thy  high  places.  How  are  the  mighty 
fallen  ?  I  am  distressed  for  thee,  my  brother.  Very  pleasant 
hast  thou  been  unto  me.' 

"  Our  President  is  dead. 

"  We  can  hardly  believe  it.  We  had  hoped  and  prayed,  and 
it  seemed  that  our  hopes  were  to  be  realized  and  our  prayers 
answered,  when  the  emotion  of  joy  was  changed  to  one  of  grave 
apprehension.  Still  we  waited,  for  we  said,  '  It  may  be  that  God 
will  be  gracious  and  merciful  unto  us.'  It  seemed  to  us  that  it 
must  be  His  will  to  spare  the  life  of  one  so  well  beloved  and  so 
much  needed.  Thus,  alternating  between  hope  and  fear,  the  weary 
hours  passed  on. 

"Then  came  the  tidings  of  defeated  sciences,  of  the  failure  of 
love  and  prayer  to  hold  its  object  to  the  earth.  We  seemed  to 
hear  the  faintly  muttered  words,  '  Good-bye,  all  ;  good-bye.  It's 
God's  will.  His  will  be  done,'  and  then  '  Nearer,  My  God,  to 


378  LAST  FUNERAL  RITES  AT  CANTON. 

Thee.'  So,  nestling  nearer  to  his  God,  he  passed  out  into  uncon- 
sciousness, skirted  the  dark  shores  of  the  sea  of  death  for  a  time, 
and  then  passed  on  to  be  at  rest.  His  great  heart  had  ceased  to 
beat. 

"  'Our  hearts  are  heavy  with  sorrow 

A  voice  is  heard  on  earth  of  kinsfolk  weeping 
The  loss  of  one  they  love  ; 

But  he  has  gone  where  the  redeemed  are  keeping 
A  festival  above. 
"  'The  mourners  throng  the  ways,  and  from  the  steeple 

The  funeral  bells  toll  slow  ; 
But  on  the  golden  streets  the  holy  people 

Are  passing  to  and  fro. 
And  saying  as  they  meet,  "  Rejoice," 

Another  long  waited  for  is  come. 
The  Saviour's  heart  is  glad,  a  younger  brother 
Has  reached  the  Father's  home.' 

THE  WORLD  HAS  LOST  A  MAN. 

"  The  cause  of  this  universal  mourning  is  to  be  found  in  the 
man  himself.  The  inspired  penman's  picture  of  Jonathan,  liken- 
ing him  unto  the  c  beauty  of  Israel,'  could  not  be  more  appropri- 
ately employed  than  in  chanting  the  lament  over  our  fallen  chief- 
tain. It  does  no  violence  to  human  speech,  nor  is  it  fulsome 
eulogy  to  speak  thus  of  him,  for  who  that  has  seen  his  stately 
bearing,  his  grace  and  manliness  of  demeanor,  his  kindliness  of 
aspect,  but  gives  assent  from  this  description  of  him  ?  Was  it 
characteristic  of  our  beloved  President  that  men  met  him  only  to 
love  him  ? 

"  They  might  indeed  differ  with  him,  but  in  the  presence  of 
such  dignity  of  character  and  grace  of  manner  none  could  fail  to 
love  the  man.  The  people  confided  in  him,  believed  in  him.  It 
was  said  of  Lincoln  that  probably  no  man  since  the  days  of  Wash- 
ington was  ever  so  deeply  imbedded  and  enshrined  in  the  hearts 
of  the  people,  but  it  is  true  of  McKinley  in  a  larger  sense.  Indus- 
trial and  social  conditions  are  such  that  he  was  even  more  than 
his  predecessors  the  friend  of  the  whole  people. 


LAST   FUNERAL  RITES  AT  CANTON.  370 

"  A  touching  scene  was  enacted  in  this  church  on  Sunday 
night  The  services  had  closed.  The  worshipers  were  gone  to 
their  homes.  Only  a  few  lingered  to  discuss  the  sad  event  that 
brings  us  together  to-day.  Three  men  in  working  garb  of  a 
foreign  race  and  unfamiliar  tongue  entered  the  room.  They 
approached  the  altar,  kneeling  before  it  and  before  his  picture. 
Their  lips  moved  as  if  in  prayer,  while  tears  furrowed  their  cheeks. 
They  may  have  been  thinking  of  their  own  King  Humbert,  and 
of  his  untimely  death.  Their  emotion  was  eloquent,  eloquent 
beyond  speech,  and  it  bore  testimony  to  their  appreciation  of 
manly  friendship  and  honest  worth. 

"  It  is  a  glorious  thing  to  be  able  to  say  in  this  presence,  with 
our  illustrious  dead  before  us,  that  he  never  betrayed  the  con- 
fidence of  his  countrymen.  Not  for  personal  gain  or  pre-eminence 
would  he  mar  the  beauty  of  his  soul.  He  kept  it  clean  and  white 
before  God  and  man,  and  his  hands  were  unsullied  by  bribes. 

A  MAN  OF  SINGLE  AIM. 

"  His  eyes  looked  right  on,  and  his  eyelids  looked  straight 
before  him.  He  was  sincere,  plain  and  honest,  just,  benevolent  and 
kind.  He  never  disappointed  those  who  believed  in  him,  but 
measured  up  to  every  duty,  and  met  every  responsibility  in  life 
grandly  and  unflinchingly. 

"  Not  only  was  our  President  brave,  heroic  and  honest ;  he 
was  as  gallant  a  knight  as  ever  rode  the  lists  for  his  lady  lover  in 
the  days  when  knighthood  was  in  flower.  It  is  but  a  few  weeks 
since  the  nation  looked  on  with  tear  dimmed  eyes  as  it  saw  with 
what  tender  conjugal  devotion  he  sat  at  the  bedside  of  his  beloved 
wife,  when  all  feared  that  a  fatal  illness  was  upon  her.  No  public 
clamor  that  he  might  show  himself  to  the  populace,  no  demand  of 
social  function  was  sufficient  to  draw  the  lover  from  the  bedside 
of  his  wife.  He  watched  and  waited  while  we  all  prayed — and  she 
lived. 

"  This  sweet  and  tender  story  all  the  world  knows,  and  the 
world  knows  that  his  whole  life  had  run  in  this  one  groove  of  love. 
It  was  a  strong  arm  that  she  leaned  upon,  and  it  never  failed  her. 


380  LAST    FUNERAL   RITES  AT  CANTON. 

Her  smile  was  more  to  him  than  the  plaudits  of  the  multitude, 
and  for  her  greeting  his  acknowledgments  of  them  must  wait. 
After  receiving  the  fatal  wound,  his  first  thought  v:as  that  the 
terrible  news  might  be  broken  gently  to  her.  May  God  in  this 
deep  hour  of  sorrow  comfort  her.  May  his  grace  be  greater  than 
her  anguish.  May  the  widows'  God  be  her  God. 

u  Another  beauty  in  the  character  of  our  President,  that  was  a 
chaplet  of  grace  about  his  neck,  was  that  he  was  a  Christian.  In  the 
broadest,  noblest  sense  of  the  word,  that  was  true.  His  confidence 
in  God  was  strong  and  unwavering.  It  held  him  steady  in  many 
a  storm  where  others  were  driven  before  the  wind  and  tossed.  He 
believed  in  the  Fatherhood  of  God  and  in  His  sovereignty.  His 
faith  in  the  Gospel  of  Christ  was  deep  and  abiding.  He  had  no 
patience  with  any  other  theme  of  pulpit  discourse.  *  Christ  and 
Him  crucified'  was,  to  his  mind,  the  only  panacea  for  the  world's 
disorders.  He  believed  it  to  be  a  supreme  duty  of  the  Christian 
minister  to  preach  the  word.  He  said  :  '  We  do  not  look  for  great 
business  men  in  the  pulpit,  but  for  great  preachers.' 

WANTED  HIM  TO  BE  A  MINISTER. 

"  It  is  well  known  that  his  godly  mother  had  hoped  for  him 
that  he  would  become  a  minister  of  the  Gospel,  and  that  she 
believed  it  to  be  the  highest  vocation  in  life.  It  was  not,  how- 
ever, his  mother's  faith  that  made  him  a  Christian.  He  had 
gained  in  early  life  a  personal  knowledge  of  Jesus,  which  guided 
him  in  the  performance  of  greater  duties  and  vaster  responsibili- 
ties than  have  been  the  lot  of  any  other  American  President.  He 
said  at  one  time,  while  bearing  heavy  burdens,  that  he  had  not  dis- 
charged the  daily  duties  of  his  life  but  for  the  fact  that  he  had 
faith  in  God. 

"  William  McKinley  believed  in  prayer,  in  the  beauty  of  it, 
in  the  potency  of  it.  Its  language  was  not  unfamiliar  to  him, 
and  his  public  addresses  not  infrequently  evince  the  fact. 

"It  was  perfectly  consistent  with  his  lifelong  convictions  and 
his  personal  experiences  that  he  should  say  as  the  first  critical 
moment  after  the  assassination  approached  '  Thy  Kingdom  come  ; 


LAST   FUNERAL   RITES  AT   CANTON.  381 

Thy  will  be  done  ;'  and  that  he  should  declare  at  the  last,  '  It  is 
God's  will  ;  His  will  be  done.'  He  lived  grandly  ;  it  was  fitting 
that  he  should  die  grandly.  And  now  that  the  majesty  of  death 
has  touched  and  claimed  him,  we  find  that  in  his  supreme  moment 
he  was  still  a  conqueror. 

"  My  friends  and  countrymen,  with  what  language  shall  I 
attempt  to  give  expression  to  the  deep  horror  of  our  souls  as  I 
speak  of  the  cause  of  his  death  ?  When  we  consider  the  magni- 
tude of  the  crime  that  has  plunged  the  country  and  the  world  into 
unutterable  grief,  we  are  not  surprised  that  one  nationality  after 
another  has  hastened  to  repudiate  the  dreadful  act.  This  gentle 
spirit,  who  hated  no  one,  to  whom  every  man  was  a  brother,  was 
suddenly  smitten  by  the  cruel  hand  of  an  assassin,  and  that,  too, 
while  in  the  very  act  of  extending  a  kind  and  generous  greeting 
to  one  who  approached  him  under  the  sacred  guise  of  friendship. 

THE  CRIME  A  MYSTERY. 

"  Could  the  assailant  have  realized  how  awful  was  the  act  he 
was  about  to  perform,  how  utterly  heartless  the  deed,  methinks 
he  would  have  stayed  his  hand  at  the  very  threshold  of  it.  In  all 
the  coming  years  men  will  seek  in  vain  to  fathom  the  enormity 
of  that  crime.  Had  this  man  who  fell  been  a  despot,  a  try  ant,  an 
oppressor,  an  insane  frenzy  to  rid  the  world  of  him  might  have 
sought  excuse,  but  it  was  the  people's  friend  who  fell  when  Will- 
iam McKinley  received  the  fatal  wound. 

"Himself  a  son  of  toil,  his  sympathies  were  with  the  toiler. 
No  one  who  has  seen  the  matchless  grace  and  perfect  ease  with 
which  he  greeted  such,  can  ever  doubt  that  his  heart  was  in  his 
open  hand.  Every  heart  throbs  for  his  countrymen.  That  his 
life  should  be  sacrificed  at  such  a  time,  just  when  there  was 
abundant  peace,  when  all  the  Americas  were  rejoicing  together,  is 
one  of  the  inscrutable  mysteries  of  Providence.  Like  many  others 
it  must  be  left  for  future  revelations  to  explain. 

"  In  the  midst  of  our  sorrow  we  have  much  to  console  us. 
He  lived  to  see  his  nation  greater  than  ever  before.  All  sectional 
lines  are  blotted  out.  There  is  no  South,  no  North,  no  East,  no 


382  LAST  FUNERAL  RITES  AT  CANTON. 

West.  Washington  saw  the  beginning  of  our  national  life.  Lin- 
coln passed  through  the  night  of  our  history  and  saw  the  dawn. 
McKinley  beheld  his  country  in  the  splendor  of  its  noon.  Truly 
he  died  in  the  fulness  of  his  fame.  With  Paul  he  could  say,  and 
with  equal  truthfulness,  '  I  am  now  ready  to  be  offered.'  The 
work  assigned  him  had  been  well  done.  The  nation  was  at  peace. 
We  had  fairly  entered  upon  an  era  of  unparalleled  prosperity. 
Our  revenues  were  generous.  Our  standing  among  the  nations 
was  secure. 

"  Our  President  was  safely  enshrined  in  the  affections  of  a 
united  people.  It  was  not  at  him  that  the  fatal  shot  was  fired, 
but  at  the  very  life  of  the  Government.  His  offering  was  vicarious. 
It  was  blood  poured  upon  the  altar  of  human  liberty.  In  view  of 
these  things  we  are  not  surprised  to  hear,  from  one  who  was 
present  when  this  great  soul  passed  away,  that  he  never  before 
saw  a  death  so  peaceful,  or  a  dying  man  so  crowned  with  grandeur. 

LESSONS  OF  THE  TRAGEDY. 

"  Let  us  turn  now  to  a  brief  consideration  of  some  of  the  les- 
sons that  we  are  to  learn  from  this  sad  event. 

"  The  first  one  that  will  occur  to  us  all  is  the  old,  old  lesson, 
that — '  in  the  midst  of  life  we  are  in  death.'  '  Man  goeth  forth  to 
his  work  and  to  his  labor  until  the  evening.' 

"  Our  President  went  forth  in  the  fulness  of  his  strength,  in 
his  manly  beauty,  and  was  suddenly  smitten  by  the  hand  that 
brought  death  with  it.  None  of  us  can  tell  what  a  day  may  bring 
forth.  Let  us,  therefore,  remember  that  '  no  man  liveth  to  him- 
self, and  none  of  us  dieth  to  himself.'  May  each  day's  close  see 
each  day's  duty  done. 

"Another  great  lesson  that  we  should  heed  is  the  vanity  of 
mere  eaithly  greatness.  In  the  presence  of  the  Dread  Messenger 
how  small  are  all  the  trappings  of  wealth  and  distinctions  of  rank 
and  power.  I  beseech  you,  seek  Him,  who  said :  '  I  am  the 
resurrection  and  the  life  ;  he  that  beHeveth  in  Me,  though  lie 
were  dead,  yet  shall  he  live  ;  and  whosoever  liveth  and  believeth 
in  Me  shall  never  die.'  There  is  but  one  Saviour  for  the  sin-sick 


LAST   FUNERAL   RITES   AT   CANTON.  383 

and  the  weary.     I  entreat  yon,  find  Him  as  our  brother  found 
Him. 

"  But  our  last  words  must  be  spoken.  Little  more  than  four 
years  ago  we  bade  him  good-bye  as  he  went  to  assume  the  great 
responsibilities  to  which  the  nation  had  called  him.  His  last 
words  as  he  left  us  were  :  '  Nothing  could  give  me  greater  pleasure 
than  this  farewell  greeting — this  evidence  of  your  friendship  and 
sympathy,  your  good  will,  and,  I  am  sure,  the  prayers  of  all  the 
people  with  whom  I  have  lived  so  long  and  whose  confidence  and 
esteem  are  dearer  to  me  than  any  other  earthly  honors.  To  all 
of  us  the  future  is  as  a  sealed  book  ;  but  if  I  can,  by  official  act 
or  administration  or  utterance,  in  any  degree  add  to  the  pros- 
perity and  unity  of  our  beloved  country,  and  the  advancement 
and  well  being  of  our  splendid  citizenship,  I  will  devote  the  best 
and  most  unselfish  efforts  of  my  life  to  that  end.  With  this 
thought  uppermost  in  my  mind,  I  reluctantly  take  leave  of  my 
friends  and  neighbors,  cherishing  in  my  heart  the  sweetest  mem- 
ories and  thoughts  of  my  old  home — my  home  now — and,  I  trust, 
my  home  hereafter,  so  long  as  I  live.' 

SLEEPS  IN  THE  CITY  HE  LOVED. 

"  We  hoped  with  him  that,  when  his  work  was  done,  freed 
from  the  burdens  of  his  great  office,  crowned  with  the  affections  of  a 
happy  people,  he  might  be  permitted  to  close  his  earthly  life  in 
the  home  he  had  loved. 

"  He  has,  indeed,  returned  to  us,  but  how  ?  Borne  to  the 
strains  of  4  Nearer,  My  God,  to  Thee,'  and  placed  where  he  first 
began  life's  struggle,  that  the  people  might  look  and  weep  at  so 
sad  a  home  coming. 

"  But  it  was  a  triumphal  march.  How  vast  the  procession  ! 
The  nation  rose  and  stood  with  uncovered  head.  The  people  of 
the  land  are  chief  mourners.  The  nations  of  the  earth  weep  with 
them.  But  oh,  what  a  victory  !  I  do  not  ask  you  in  the  heat  of 
public  address,  but  in  the  calm  moments  of  mature  reflection, 
what  other  man  ever  had  such  high  honors  bestowed  upon  him, 
and  by  so  many  people  ?  What  pageant  had  equalled  this  that 


884  LAST   FUNERAL   RITES   AT   CANTON. 

we  look  upon  to-day  ?     We  gave  liini  to  the  nation  but  a  little 
more  than  four  years  ago.    He   went  out  with   the  light  of  the 
morning  upon  his  brow,  but  with  his  task  set  and  the  purpose  to 
complete.     We  take  him  back  a  mighty  conqueror  ! 
"  'The  churchyard,  where  his  children  rest, 

The  quiet  spot  that  suits  him  best, 

There  shall  his  grave  be  made, 

And  there  his  bones  be  laid. 

And  there  his  countrymen  shall  come, 

With  memory  proud,  with  pity  dumb, 

And  strangers,  far  and  near, 

For  many  and  many  a  year, 

For  many  and  many  an  age, 

While  history  on  her  ample  page 

The  virtues  shall  enroll 

Of  that  paternal  soul.'  ' 

LAID    TO    REST. 

It  was  exactly  four  minutes  after  four  when  the  funeral  car 
bore  the  remains  of  the  dead  President  through  the  gateway  of 
his  last  resting  place.  Twenty  minutes  after  that  time  the  brief 
services  at  the  vault  were  over,  the  members  of  the  family  and 
the  distinguished  men  of  the  nation  who  had  come  so  far  to  do 
him  honor  had  passed  through  the  gates  on  their  homeward  way. 
One  hour  and  forty  minutes  after  the  hearse  had  entered  the 
cemetery  the  place  was  clear  and  the  dead  President  was  resting 
alone  under  the  watchful  care  of  the  men  of  the  regular  army. 

A  sentry's  measured  tread  resounded  from  the  cement  walk 
before  the  vault,  another  kept  vigil  on  the  grassy  slope  above, 
and  at  the  head  and  at  the  foot  of  the  casket  stood  armed  men. 
Before  the  door,  which  was  not  closed  tight,  was  pitched  the 
tent  of  the  guard,  and  there  it  will  remain  until  the  doors  are 
closed  to-morrow.  Sentries  will  then  guard  the  vault  every  hour 
of  the  day  and  night  until  the  body  has  been  borne  to  its  final 
resting  place. 

For  nearly  an  hour  before  the  head  of  the  funeral  procession 
arrived  at  the  gate  of  the  cemetery  the  strains  of  the  dirges 


LAST  FUNERAL  RITES  AT  CANTON.  885 

played  by  the  bands  came  over  the  hilltops  to  the  watchers  by 
the  vault,  telling  them  that  the  procession  was  on  its  way. 
Finally,  at  3.30  o'clock,  the  detachment  of  mounted  police  head- 
ing the  parade  came  slowly  around  the  corner  of  Lincoln  street 
and  passed  up  West  Third  street  to  the  cemetery  gates.  Behind 
them  came  the  Grand  Army  band  of  Canton,  the  solemn  notes  of 
"  Nearer,  My  God,  to  Thee,"  welling  out  as  it  came  up  the  drive- 
way. 

THE    GRAND   ARMY    POSTS. 

A  moment  after  entering  the  cemetery  the  music  was 
changed  to  Chopin's  Funeral  Interlude,  and  it  was  to  the  sound 
of  this  that  the  band  passed  out  and  on  to  Kentucky  avenue  at 
the  south  side  of  the  enclosure.  Behind  the  band  came  the  Grand 
Army  posts,  fully  500  of  the  veterans  marching  by. 

As  they  passed  along  the  flower  strewn  path  many  of  them 
were  weeping  bitterly,  and  they  stooped  by  dozens  to  gather  the 
blossoms  which  lay  at  their  feet,  and  carried  them  away  as  memen- 
toes. The  sweet  pea  blossoms  that  were  scattered  along  the  road 
were  the  offering  of  the  school  children  of  Nashville,  Tenn.,  and 
no  tribute  of  love  that  was  seen  during  the  funeral  exercises 
more  amply  fulfilled  its  mission  or  more  completely  carried  its 
message  of  affection. 

After  the  veterans  came,  in  well  set  ranks,  with  rifles  at 
"arms  port,"  the  men  of  the  Sixth  Ohio  Infantry,  of  the  National 
Guard,  the  Engineer  Corps  of  the  National  Guard  from  Cleve- 
land, and  the  comrades  of  the  late  President  in  the  ranks  of  the 
Twenty-third  Ohio  Volunteers  during  the  Civil  War. 

Then  came  a  long  line  of  carriages  bearing  the  members  of  the 
family  and  the  distinguished  visitors.  From  the  first  carriage 
that  stopped  at  the  foot  of  the  walk  leading  up  to  the  vault,  Presi- 
dent Roosevelt  and  Commander  Cowles  of  the  navy  alighted. 
Without  waiting  for  those  in  the  second  carriage,  which  contained 
Secretaries  Root  and  Gage  and  Attorney-General  Knox,  the  Presi- 
dent walked  slowly  toward  the  vault  and  took  a  position  on  the  south 
side  of  the  walk  close  to  the  door.  As  Secretary  Root  came  up  the 
walk  he  assumed  a  similar  position  on  the  north  side  of  the  walk, 

25 


386  LAST   FUNERAL  RITES  AT  CANTON. 

and  the  other  members  of  the  Cabinet  ranged  themselves  by  the  side 
of  the  President  and  Secretary  of  War. 

With  bared  heads  the  President  and  members  of  the  Cabinet, 
who  were  followed  by  the  officers  of  the  army  and  navy,  stood  on 
either  side  of  the  walk,  the  lines  reaching  just  to  the  edge  of  the 
roadway.  Within  a  minute  after  the  formation  of  the  lines  the 
funeral  car  came  up  the  walk.  The  casket  was  gently  lifted  from 
the  hearse  and  borne  to  the  door  of  the  vault,  where  it  was  rested 
upon  the  catafalque.  It  was  carried  by  the  same  men  of  the 
army  and  navy  who  had  carried  it  ever  since  it  left  Buffalo. 
Before  them  as  it  came  up  the  the  path  walked  Colonel  Bingham, 
who  had  been  aide  to  President  McKinley. 

At  its  head  on  the  right  walked  Lieutenant  Hamlin  of  the 
army,  and  in  a  corresponding  position  on  the  left  Lieutenant 
Eberle  of  the  navy.  Just  as  the  bearers  lowered  it  to  the  cata- 
falque, Abner  McKinley  and  Mrs.  Barber  alighted  from  their 
carriage,  and  stood  at  the  foot  of  the  line  of  officers.  They 
remained  here  for  a  few  seconds  and  then  passed  up  to  the  foot  of 
the  casket,  where  they  remained  during  the  brief  services. 

BURIAL  SERVICE. 

There  was  a  moment's  pause  as  Colonel  Bingham  looked  to 
see  that  all  was  in  readiness.  He  then  looked  toward  Bishop 
Joyce,  of  Minneapolis,  who  read  the  burial  service  of  the  Methodist 
Church,  slowly,  but  in  a  voice  that  could  be  heard  distinctly  by 
all  who  were  grouped  around  the  vault.  Instantly  from  eight 
bugles  rang  out  the  notes  of  the  soldier's  last  call — "Taps."  It 
was  beautifully  done,  and  the  last  notes  of  the  bugles  died  away 
so  softly  that  all  who  heard  it  remained  listening  for  a  few 
seconds  to  hear  if  it  was  really  ended. 

When  the  last  note  had  floated  away  Secretary  Wilson  was 
in  tears,  Secretary  Hitchcock  was  also  weeping,  and  the  President 
was  gazing  grimly  at  the  walk.  It  was  the  last  moment  for  the 
men  who  had  been  so  closely  associated  with  the  President  for  so 
long,  and  the  thought  seemed  greater  than  most  of  them  could 
bear. 


LAST  FUNERAL  RITES  AT  CANTON.  887 

It  was  all  ended  at  last,  and  Captain  Biddle,  of  Company  C, 
of  the  Fourteenth  Infantry,  who  will  command  the  guard  which 
is  to  be  placed  around  the  vault,  stepped  up  to  a  line  of  five  sol- 
diers, which  he  had  posted  just  north  of  the  doorway,  and  who, 
throughout  the  ceremony,  had  stood  at  present  arms  as  rigid  as 
though  carved  out  of  iron.  One  of  them  passed  quickly  into  the 
vault,  taking  station  at  the  head  of  the  casket,  another  placed 
himself  at  the  foot,  and  three  men  stood  in  the  doorway,  two  on 
the  lower  step  and  the  third  on  the  floor  of  the  vault,  directly 
behind  them.  There  they  remained  until  after  the  passage  of  the 
funeral  procession. 

A  graceful  tribute  from  the  pen  of  Maud  McDougal  follows  : 
"  No  need  to  ask  the  way  from  the  McKinley  home  to  West- 
lawn  Cemetery  to-day.  The  veriest  stranger  could  have  found  it. 
It  led  between  two  black  banks  of  people,  fringed  with  the  blue 
and  khaki  of  the  National  Guard  of  Ohio.  The  sorrowful  journey 
was  only  once  broken,  and  then  at  the  church  where  he  held  his 

faith. 

LISTENED  WITH  BARED  HEADS. 

"  And  the  people  without,  the  people  who  had  loved  him, 
crowded  close,  some  of  them  inside  the  church,  more  on  the  steps 
and  far  out  into  the  street,  listening  with  bared  heads  and  bated 
breath  to  the  beliefs  on  which  had  been  built  so  fine  a  life  and  so 
noble  a  death.  Then  once  more  the  march  of  death  was  taken  up 
to  music,  which  now  wailed  of  the  woe  of  the  people  bereft,  and 
again  told  in  almost  triumphant  solemnity  of  a  rest  well  earned. 

"  Familiar  hymn  tunes  acquired  a  new,  if  sombre,  sweetness 
as  they  marked  the  rise  and  fall  of  the  steps  of  those  who  accom- 
panied the  city's  hero  but  a  little  way  on  his  journey.  And  the 
booming  of  the  '  Dead  March,'  and  the  haunting  sweetness  of 
Chopin's  Funeral  March  will  ring  in  Canton's  ears  for  many  a 
day  to  come.  To  the  sorrowing  multitudes  who  knew  that  he 
was  theirs  for  but  a  few  minutes  longer  at  best,  the  final  passing 
of  William  McKinley  from  their  lives,  but  not  from  their  hearts, 
seemed  to  accomplish  itself  between  the  beats  of  a  pulse. 

"To  the  few  who  were  admitted  to  the  cemetery  and  had 


888  LAST  FUNERAL  RITES  AT  CANTON. 

stood  for  perhaps  one  hour,  perhaps  two,  tense  with  expectation, 
it  seemed  an  age  from  the  time  that  the  majestic  distant  notes  of 
the  great  '  Dead  March '  were  first  heard  to  the  moment  when  the 
shrill,  sweet  notes  of  l  Flee  As  a  Bird '  heralded  the  approach  of 
the  funeral  party.  It  was  the  second  division  of  the  procession, 
however,  in  which  interest  centred.  It  was  for  it  that  all  the 
other  divisions  were  organized.  And  it,  in  its  turn,  was  organized 
purely  as  an  escort  to  a  black-draped  hearse,  and  to  do  honor  to 
the  still  figure  that  lay  under  the  flag  for  which  it  had  offered  its 
life  to  defend,  its  brain  and  best  energy  to  glorify  and  in  the 
services  of  which  it  had  met  death  gloriously  and  ungrudgingly. 
"  The  formation  of  the  procession  was  as  follows  :  Troop  A, 
in  all  the  brarery  of  its  glittering  uniform,  swept  up  the  circle 
and  ranged  itself  under  the  trees  to  the  right.  After  it,  in  pitiable 
contrast,  came  the  'President's  Regiment,'  or  what  was  left  of  it, 
the  regiment  he  fought  with  and  endured  with  and  won  honor 
with  through  the  Civil  War. 

NO  POMP  OR  PAGEANTRY. 

"No  arrogance  of  black  and  gold  and  red  here,  no  pride  of 
prancing  hoofs — only  thirty  men,  poor,  many  of  them,  and 
stricken  in  years  ;  men  who  had  called  McKinley  'Major'  when 
they  did  not  call  him  comrade,  faltering  in  broken  line,  stopping 
one  after  another  to  pick  up  as  precious  souvenirs  the  flowers  that 
the  school  children  of  Nashville  had  sent  to  strew  the  last  stage 
of  the  President's  journey,  which  lay  between  the  wide  gates  of 
the  cemetery  and  the  narrow  gates  of  the  receiving  vault. 

"  Then  came  another  contrast,  bewilderingly  different  in  its 
nature,  as  President  Roosevelt,  the  members  of  the  Cabinet,  Min- 
isters from  other  lands  and  the  officiating  clergymen  were  driven 
up  and  alighted,  a  sorrow-stricken  group,  waiting  to  receive  the 
mighty  dead.  It  was  an  impressive  sight  as  the  hearse  drew  up. 
The  whole  side  of  the  slope  under  which  the  receiving  vault  is 
built  was  buried  in  a  mass  of  bloom, sent  to  show  the  sympathy  of 
the  whole  world — of  far  Australia,  of  Canada,  of  Brazil  and  Chile, 
of  Continental  Europe  and  Central  America — with  a  nation's  loss. 


LAST  FUNERAL  RITES  AT  CANTON.  389 

"  The  twelve  stalwart  bearers,  representing  all  branches  of 
both  army  and  navy,  who  had  all  through  the  sad  journey  lifted 
their  loved  burden  lovingly  and  borne  it  tenderly,  took  the  weight 
on  their  broad  shoulders  for  almost  the  last  time,  and  the  admi- 
rals and  commanding  officers  of  both  branches  of  the  service 
lined  themselves  upon  either  side  of  the  flag-draped,  flower-cov- 
ered casket. 

"  In  long  double  lines  from  the  entrance  to  the  vault  to  the 
edge  of  the  driveway  these  dignitaries  ranged,  their  heads  rever- 
ently bared,  in  order  of  their  rank,  from  Roosevelt  and  Gage  down 
to  the  military  and  naval  men.  At  their  head,  the  black  entrance 
to  the  vault  yawning  behind  him,  the  flag-draped  bier  within  show- 
ing but  dimly,  stood  venerable  Bishop  Joyce  waiting. 

BUGLERS  SOUNDED  "TAPS." 

"  Bearing  their  loved  burden  high  above  all  these  honored 
heads,  while  a  squad  of  buglers  from  the  Canton  G.  A.  R.  band 
sounded  taps,  the  soldiers  and  sailors  advanced  slowly  to  lay  it 
at  the  churchman's  feet.  Solemnly  the  words  of  the  Methodist 
service  rang  out  that  all  might  hear: 

"  'I  heard  a  voice  from  heaven  say,  Blessed-  are  the  dead 
which  die  in  the  Lord.' 

"  And  for  the  last  time  the  boys  in  blue  lifted  the  weight  of  a 
nation's  woe  to  their  stalwart  shoulders  and,  the  good  Bishop 
leading  them  in,  bore  it  from  the  light  of  day  to  the  gray  gloom  of 
the  tomb.  With  streaming  eyes,  they  who  had  been  the  Presi- 
dent's family,  official  and  unofficial,  watched  it  pass  into  the 
shadow.  With  heavy  hearts  they  acquiesced  in  the  posting  of 
the  guard,  three  men  at  the  entrance  to  the  tomb  and  one  at  the 
head,  one  at  the  foot  of  the  bier,  which  seemed  to  shut  them  who 
loved  and  shared  his  life  out  from  him  as  effectually  as  it  did  the 
veriest  stranger. 

"  Then,  since  on  the  isolation  of  death  even  they  must  not 
intrude,  they  turned  sadly  away.  Following  them  came  Senators 
and  Representatives,  the  great  majority  of  the  people's  representa- 
tives at  Washington,  each,  as  he  passed  the  guarded  doorway, 


890  LAST   FUNERAL  RITES  AT  CANTON. 

reverently  uncovering.  After  them  walked  the  federal  employes 
of  four  great  cities.  It  must  have  been  nearly  7  o'clock  when 
the  last  of  these  filed  past  the  door  of  the  open  tomb,  when  the 
last  head  was  bared,  and  the  last  tear-dimmed  eyes  that  sought 
out  the  vague  shape  of  the  bier  in  the  shadow  behind  the  impas- 
sive guard.'* 


CHAPTER  XX. 

Magnificent  Tributes  to  Mr.  McKinley— Eloquent  Eulogies 
from  Celebrities— Grief  and  Indignation— The  President's 
Virtues  and  Character  Extolled. 

TJ ON.  WAYNE  MAcVEAGH,  who  was  Attorney-General  in 
*  1  President  Garfield's  Cabinet,  said  at  a  great  memorial 
meeting  in  Philadelphia : 

"  I  am  quite  incapable  of  making  you  any  formal  address 
to-night.  Others  will  discharge  that  duty,  and  I  am  here  simply 
as  one  of  you,  to  stand  side  by  side  with  you  in  this  expression  of 
our  share  in  the  universal  sorrow  which  binds  the  nation  together 
North  and  South  and  East  and  West  as  a  united  people,  mourn- 
ing for  their  chosen  leader,  who  has  been  so  suddenly  and  so 
cruelly  taken  from  them. 

"  It  has  happened  to  me  to  know  intimately  and  well  each  of 
our  martyred  Presidents.  It  is  thirty-six  years  since,  in  obedience 
to  the  request  of  President  Lincoln,  I  reached  Washington  in  the 
dim  gray  of  an  April  morning  to  find  that  he  was  dead.  It  is  just 
twenty  years  ago  to-night  since  I  sat  by  President  Garfield  as  he 
died.  It  is  only  twelve  days  ago  that  all  the  joy  of  reaching 
home  was  changed  into  unutterable  grief  and  pain  by  learning 
that  President  McKinley  had  been  shot ;  and  now  he  also  is 
hidden  from  us  in  the  grave. 

"  It  was  eminently  fitting  that  this  great  and  noble  city 
should  array  herself  in  the  habiliments  of  mourning  and  give 
this  solemn  and  impressive  celebration  of  the  feelings  of  her 
citizens  at  the  appalling  calamity  which  has  befallen  us.  With 
the  Mayor  in  the  chair,  surrounded  by  this  vast  concourse  of  her 
representative  citizens  of  all  parties  and  denominations  and  of 
every  walk  in  life,  with  solemn  music,  and  with  the  presence  of 
the  reverend  clergy,  Philadelphia  attests  her  grief  in  a  manner 
worthy  of  her  and  worthy  of  the  affection  felt  for  her  by  the 
beloved  President  whose  loss  she  mourns  ;  for  he  was  in  the  habit 

391 


392  MAGNIFICENT  TRIBUTES   TO   MR.    McKINLEY. 

of  frequently  expressing  his  great  regard  for  our  city,  feeling,  as 
he  once  said  to  me,  when  he  was  here,  as  if  he  was  at  home. 

'  What  is  to  be  said  in  the  way  of  eulogy  must  be  said  by 
others.  I  do  not  feel  equal  to  it,  but  some  things  all  men  know. 
He  was  a  brave  and  faithful  soldier  in  as  righteous  a  war  as  was 
ever  waged.  As  Chairman  of  the  Committee  on  Ways  and  Means 
he  was  necessarily  influential  while  framing  tariffs  in  assisting 
others  toward  the  making  of  great  fortunes  ;  but  whatever  he  did 
was  done  because  he  believed  it  to  be  for  the  general  welfare  ;  and 
no  suspicion  ever  existed,  not  only  of  improper  gain,  but  not  even 
improper  motive  on  his  part. 

TOO  GOOD  TO  BE  GREEDY. 

"  Like  Lincoln  and  Garfield,  he  was  too  good  an  American  to 
care  to  be  rich.  As  a  husband,  he  has  left  us  a  measure  of  duty 
in  self-denial  to  which  few  of  us  can  hope  to  attain.  A  professed 
believer  in  the  Christian  religion,  he  lived  more  nearly  in  obe- 
dience to  its  requirements,  and  was  more  fully  imbued  with  the 
spirit  of  the  Master  than  is  often  found  in  this  practical  and 
metallic  age.  Indeed,  there  need  be  no  better  test  of  his  true 
Christian  spirit  than  that  his  only  reported  allusion  to  his  mur- 
derer was  an  entreaty  in  his  behalf,  and  his  last  words  assuredly 
were  suggested  by  the  words  of  our  Lord  on  the  Mount  of  Olives: 
'God's  will,  not  ours,  be  done.' 

4  Yes,  we  have  lost  three  noble  President's  by  the  assassin's 
hands,  and  all  the  assasins  were  native-born  Americans.  The 
first  was  a  scholar,  and  used  a  Latin  quotation  to  justify  his  hate, 
born  of  the  Civil  War.  The  second  was  an  educated  man,  and 
his  act  was  due  to  what  he  supposed  was  an  unequal  distribution 
of  the  spoils  of  office. 

"  Of  the  real  motive  of  the  assassin  of  President  McKinley 
we  know  too  little  yet  to  form  a  final  judgment ;  but  surely  the 
alarming  outbreak  of  bitter  hatred  appearing  about  in  so  many 
different  parts  of  the  country  requires  the  earnest  and  serious  con- 
sideration of  all  good  citizens,  for  he  must  learn  the  true  cause  of 
them  before  he  can  be  able  to  apply  an  effective  remedy.  It  will, 


MAGNIFICENT  TRIBUTES  TO   MR.    McKINLEY.  393 

however,  always  be  true  that,  under  the  whole  wide  canopy  of 
Heaven,  there  can  be  found  no  antidote  to  hate  but  love. 

"Meanwhile,  we  may  all  rejoice  that  the  Bench  and  Bar  of 
Buffalo  are  reflecting  credit  upon  the  whole  country  by  again 
securing  reverence  for  the  calm,  orderly  and  resistless  processes 
of  the  law. 

"And  after  all,  my  friends,  it  is  upon  the  processes  of  the 
law  that  you  and  I  must,  in  the  last  resort,  depend  for  the  per- 
petuity and  the  greatness  of  the  Government  our  dead  President 
loved  so  devotedly,  and  which  he  believed,  as  you  and  I  believe  to 
be,  in  spite  of  all  abatement,  the  best  Government  under  which, 
men  have  ever  lived,  and  no  other  form  of  government  could  in 
a  single  generation  have  produced  and  conducted  to  the  seat  of 
the  Chief  Magistracy  three  such  rulers  as  Lincoln,  Garfield  and 
McKinley. 

"  We  grieve  at  having  lost  them,  but  we  are  proud  having 
had  them  as  our  Presidents.  Our  hearts  just  now  are  full  of 
sorrow  at  losing  him  we  have  met  to  mourn. 

"  'And  while  the  races  of  mankind  endure 

Let  their  great  examples  stand 

Colossal  seen  of  eveiy  land. 
To  keep  the  soldier  firm,  the  statesman  pure, 

Till  in  all  lands  and  through  all  human  story 

The  path  of  duty  be  the  way  to  glory.' " 

ELOQUENT  WORDS  OF  ARCHBISHOP  RYAN. 

"  Honored  by  an  invitation  to  speak  on  this  sad  and  solemn 
occasion,  I  naturally  regard  it  from  the  religious  standpoint. 
Religion  is  an  integral  portion  of  our  nature,  as  real  as  the  intel- 
lectual or  material  portion  of  it,  and  cannot  be  ignored  in  indi- 
vidual or  national  character.  It  has  had  more  influence  on  our 
race  than  any  other  power.  I  am  gratified  to  state  that  the 
deceased  President  recognized  its  great  claims  ;  that,  according  to 
his  convictions  and  the  dictates  of  his  conscience,  he  was  a 
religious  man.  His  forgiveness  of  his  murderer  and  his  profound 
submission  to  the  Divine  will,  expressed  in  these  words,  *  This  is 


394  MAGNIFICENT  TRIBUTES  TO   MR    McKINLEY. 

God's  way.  His  will,  not  ours,  be  done,'  shows  clearly  the  power 
of  religion  over  him. 

"  That  he  was  fair  to  those  who  differed  from  his  religious 
convictions  I  am  persuaded.  I  know,  on  the  best  authority,  that 
as  Governor  of  Ohio  he  was  kind,  almost  partial,  to  the  Catholics 
of  that  State  when  it  was  unpopular  to  be  such.  I  had  occasion 
to  visit  him  in  the  interest  of  the  Catholic  Indians,  and  I  am 
satisfied  that  whatever  concessions  were  made  were  made  through 
his  influence,  and  that  full  justice  would  have  been  done  to  them 
could  he  have  followed  the  impulses  of  his  heart,  which  public 
men  cannot  always  do. 

"  But,  ladies  and  gentlemen,  there  are  thoughts  that  force 
themselves  upon  us  to-night,  greater  and  more  important  than 
the  consideration  of  the  personal  religion  of  any  individual,  how- 
ever exalted  and  lamented.  These  refer  to  the  welfare  of  the 
country,  which  the  deceased  President  loved,  served  and  ruled. 
They  are,  I  believe,  thoughts  of  gravest  moment,  and  appropriate 
to  this  occasion.  'Better  is  the  house  of  mourning  than  the 
house  of  joy,'  for  the  consideration  of  these  questions. 

CHIEF  ERROR  OF  OUR  AGE. 

"One  of  the  greatest  errors  of  our  age  and  country  is  disre- 
gard in  State  and  Church  of  principles  and  doctrines.  It  matters 
little,  it  is  said,  what  men  believe  and  teach,  provided  they  do  not 
act  in  disobedience  of  law.  We  relegate  principles  and  doctrines 
to  the  region  of  theory,  and  take  cognizance  only  of  actions. 
Occasionally  the  public  is  awakened  to  a  sense  of  the  fallacy  of 
this  position.  A  few  years  ago  the  body  of  a  young  man  was 
found.  He  had  committed  suicide  and  left  a  note  stating  that  he 
was  induced  to  do  so  by  the  defense  of  suicide  in  a  lecture  of 
Robert  Ingersoll.  Here  were  found  cause  and  effect  The 
wretched  man  who  has  slain  the  President  of  the  United  States 
assures  us  that  he  was  influenced  to  do  so  by  the  speeches  and 
writings  of  a  woman  Anarchist — another  instance  of  cause  and 
effect. 

( Wars  between   men   may  cease,'  says  Bdmund  Burke, 


MAGNIFICENT  TRIBUTES  TO   MR.    McKINLEY.  395 

'wars between  principles  shall  never  cease.'  By  conquest  or  com- 
promise wars  between  men  cease ;  but  principles  are  in  eternal 
antagonism.  It  is  illogical  and  suicidal  to  ignore  principles  and 
doctrines  as  they  will  inevitably  act  themselves  out  into  actions 
for  good  or  evil.  Men  say  we  want  only  the  morality  of  Christi- 
anity, but  without  its  dogmas,  as  if  these  dogmas  did  not  create 
and  cannot  alone  perpetuate  that  morality.  Again  they  say,  '  We 
care  not  what  the  Anarchist  writes  or  speaks,  provided  he  does 
not  kill.'  As  if  the  writing  and  speaking  addressed  to  young  and 
fiery  hearts  may  not  lead  to  murder. 

WHERE  IS  THE  REMEDY? 

"  But  it  may  be  asked,  Where  is  the  remedy  ?  You  cannot 
legislate  the  world  into  morality.  You  cannot,  in  a  free  country, 
prevent  free  speech  and  the  liberty  of  the  press.  You  may  say  it 
is  not  the  liberty  of  speech  or  press  I  would  prevent,  but  its 
license.  But  who  is  to  be  judge  between  liberty  and  license? 
Ah,  gentlemen,  the  truth  is,  we  need  a  power  that  shall  go  deeper 
than  can  the  legislator  and  his  law,  that  goes  right  straight  to 
the  very  core  of  conscience.  We  need  more  religion.  Con- 
science is  the  great  arbiter  to  decide  what  is  liberty  and  what  is 
license.  And  we  need  religion  that  is  not  merely  sentimental, 
but  doctrinal  ;  not  merely  of  God  in  His  mercy,  but  of  God  in 
His  justice  also  ;  not  merely  of  heaven  and  its  joys,  but  of  hell 
and  its  just  punishments. 

"  Because  this  is  a  land  of  liberty,  and  there  are  fewer 
restraining  influences  from  without,  we  need  the  more  from 
within.  I  am  alarmed  for  the  future  of  this  Republic  if  disregard 
and  contempt  for  religious  doctrines  should  increase.  No  nation 
has  ever  continued  to  live  without  religion  and  its  restraints. 
Uncivilized  nations  are  conquered  from  without,  but  civilized 
ones  from  within,  by  the  force  of  their  own  passions. 

"  Egypt,  Greece  and  Rome  lived  because  of  truths,  mixed,  it 
is  true,  with  falsehoods,  which  their  religions  possessed.  There 
was  much  of  conservative  truth  in  the  religion  of  the  pagans. 
They  believed  in  God  and  Providence,  and  future  reward  and 


896  MAGNIFICENT  TRIBUTES  TO   MR.    McKINLEY. 

punishment  for  the  observance  or  violation  of  law,  human  and 
divine.  Our  modern  unbelievers  would  sweep  all  these  truths 
away,  and  with  them  they  would  sweep  away  this  glorious  young 
Republic. 

"  If  we  are  to  perpetuate  this  splendid  Republic,  we  must 
perpetuate  Christianity  to  protect  it.  On  this  most  solemn  occa- 
sion, and  standing  in  spirit  by  the  newly  made  grave  of  our 
murdered  President,  and  in  the  name  of  the  Founder  of  Christi- 
anity, whom  we  all  love,  I  ask  you  to  keep  the  deposit  of 
Christianity  and  hand  it  down  as  the  richest  heritage  you  can 
leave  to  your  posterity  and  your  beloved  country." 

When  informed  of  the  death  of  President  McKinley,  Hon. 
John  Wanamaker,  who  was  a  memebr  of  President  Harrison's 
Cabinet,  made  the  following  statement : 

MILLIONS  OF  HEARTS  IN  AGONY. 

"The  passing  on  of  William  McKinley  is  an  awful  mystery. 
There  are  millions  of  hearts  that  are  overwhelmed  with  agony. 
As  against  the  miserable  creature  called  a  man  who  destroyed 
this  noble  life  there  are  thousands  and  thousands  of  men  in  the 
United  States,  noble  and  true,  who  would  unhesitatingly  and 
gladly  have  given  their  lives  if  his  could  have  been  spared,  so  full 
was  it  of  gifts  and  graces,  of  growth  and  of  genuine  goodness. 

"  Almost  like  a  flash  in  the  sky  he  passed  on  without  spot 
or  decay  or  the  withering  of  powers  to  the  eternal  and  enduring. 
He  lived  and  died  nobly.  '  Good-bye,'  he  said  *  good-bye  to  all. 
It  is  God's  way.'  Always  a  sage  and  a  soldier,  and  now  a  saint." 

The  Right  Rev.  Ozi  W.  Whitaker,  Bishop  of  the  Protestant 
Episcopal  Church,  Diocese  of  Pennsylvania,  gave  the  following 
estimate  of  the  life  and  character  of  the  late  President : 

"  There  can  be  but  one  opinion  as  to  the  character  of  the  late 
President  McKinley.  It  was  of  the  highest  type  of  Christian  man- 
hood. I  knew  him  personally,  having  met  him  on  erery  occasion 
on  which  he  visited  Philadelphia  as  President,  and  I  have  been 
impressed,  as  everyone  who  came  in  contact  with  him  must  have 
been,  with  his  qualities  as  a  man,  a  statesman  and  a  Christian. 


MAGNIFICENT  TRIBUTES  TO   MR.    McKINLEY.  897 

"The  address  he  delivered  at  Buffalo  the  day  before  he 
received  his  death  wound  was  the  latest  illustration  of  the  far- 
seeing,  broad-minded  statesmanship  for  which  he  was  noted. 
From  the  time  he  was  shot  till  his  death  the  spirit  of  fortitude 
and  magnanimity  he  displayed  touched  all  hearts.  His  death 
was  the  death  of  a  sincere  Christian.  It  is  certain  that  he  will 
always  be  remembered  with  peculiar  affection  by  the  American 
people,  and  I  believe  he  will  hold  in  their  minds  and  hearts  as 
high  a  place  as  any  President  who  preceded  him." 

FROM  A  WELL  KNOWN  BISHOP. 

Bishop  Whitaker  issued  the  following  letter  to  the  clergy  of 
his  diocese,  instructing  them  to  hold  a  memorial  service  for  the 
late  President : 

"  To  the  Clergy  of  the  Diocese  of  Pennsylvania.  Dear 
brethren  :  In  accordance  with  the  proclamation  of  the  President 
of  the  United  States,  I  recommend  that  the  several  congregations 
of  the  diocese  hold  a  memorial  service  to  our  late  beloved  President 
in  their  respective  churches,  on  Thursday,  September  19,  at  n 
o'clock  A.  M.  A  form  of  service  will  be  sent  to  you  later.  The 
hymns  suggested  seem  most  appropriate,  but  you  may  substitute 
others  in  your  discretion." 

Through  the  courtesy  of  the  "  Boston  Globe  "  we  present  to 
the  reader  a  number  of  touching  tributes  to  Mr.  McKinley  from 
the  pens  of  our  most  gifted  authors.  They  appeared  in  the 
Memorial  Edition  of  this  journal  and  occupy  the  remainder  of  the 

chapter : 

EVEN  AS  A  CHILD. 

EVEN  as  a  child  to  whom  sad  neighbors  speak, 
In  a  symbol,  saying  that  his  father  "  sleeps  " — 
Who  feels  their  meaning,  even  as  his  cheek 

Feels  the  first  teardrop  as  it  stings  and  leaps — 
Who  keenly  knows  his  loss,  and  yet  denies 
Its  awful  import — grieves  unreconciled, 
Moans,  drowses,  rouses,  with  new-drowning  eyes — 
Even  as  a  child. 


MAGNIFICENT  TRIBUTES  TO   MR.    McKINLEY. 

Even  as  a  child ;  with  empty,  aimless  hand 

Clasped  sudden  to  the  heart  all  hope  deserts — 
With  tears  that  blur  all  lights  on  sea  or  land — 

The  lip  that  quivers  and  the  throat  that  hurts — 
Even  so,  the  nation  that  has  known  his  love 

Is  orphaned  now  ;  and,  whelmed  in  anguish  wild, 
Knows  but  its  sorrow  and  the  ache  thereof, 

Even  as  a  child.  JAMES  WHITCOMB  RILEY. 


N 


A  NATION  IN  SORROW. 

ATION  bright  with  the  sunrise  glow — 
Full  of  the  century's  throbbing — 

Why  do  you  bow  your  head  so  low  ? 
Why  do  we  hear  you  sobbing  ? 

Death  has  climbed  to  my  highest  place, 

And  tears  of  a  people  are  no  disgrace ; 

Sorrow  is  better  told  than  kept ; 

And  grief  is  holy,  for  God  has  wept. 

Nation  with  banner  ©f  oldest  birth, 
Stars  to  the  high  stars  sweeping, 

Why  have  you  not  a  flag  on  earth 
But  to  the  half-mast  creeping  ? 

Many  a  brave  man  had  to  die 

To  hold  those  colors  against  the  sky ; 

Agonies  such  as  this  reveal 

That  every  banner  to  Heaven  must  kneel. 

Nation  with  tasks  that  might  appal 

Planets  of  weak  endeavor, 
Why  did  the  best  man  of  you  all 

Sail  from  your  shores  forever  ? 
Not  forever,  and  not  from  sight, 
But  nearer  to  God's  sweet,  kindly  light  ; 
Through  the  mists  to  a  stormy  sea, 
Where  all  the  heroes  of  ages  be. 

Nation  with  weapons  fierce  and  grim, 
Sharpen  with  rage  your  sadness  ; 

Tear  the  murderer  limb  from  limb — 
Torture  him  into  madness  ! 


MAGNIFICENT  TRIBUTES  TO  MR.  MCKINLEY. 

No !  I  have  Heaven  too  much  in  awe 
The  law  to  avenge  with  lack  of  law ; 
Take  we  the  soul  from  its  tainted  clod, 
And  lay  it  down  at  the  feet  of  God. 

Nation  whose  love  for  home  ne'er  dies, 

Cruel  the  clouds  that  hover  ! 
What  do  you  say  when  a  woman  cries, 

"Give  me  my  husband  lover?" 
Sad  heart,  carry  the  grievous  wrong, 
In  Faith's  own  arms;  it  will  not  be  long, 
Here,  and  in  lands  you  never  knew, 
He  more  than  ever  will  comfort  you. 

Nation  of  many  tribes  and  lands — 

Strength  of  the  world's  best  nations, 
Say  !  would  a  million  murderous  hands 

Crumble  your  deep  foundations  ? 
Never  !  No  poison  e'er  can  blight 
The  flowers  and  fruitage  of  Truth  and  Right ; 
Never !  the  land  that  the  tryant  fears 
Shall  live  in  splendor  a  thousand  years. 

WILL  CARLETON. 

THE  DARKENED  SKIES. 

E  air  was  filled  with  music,  every  heart 
1  Throbbed  its  thanksgiving  for  the  season's  wealth. 

With  splendors  piled  appeared  the  magic  mart 

Whose  arches  gave  their  echoes  for  thy  health. 

Thy  train  made  entrance  on  the  brilliant  scene 
Like  the  fair  galley  of  a  victor  crowned  ; 

While  Nature  smiled,  propitious  and  serene, 

Thine  and  the  Nation's  heart  the  death  blow  found. 

Dark  grow  the  skies,  the  sounds  of  joy  are  hushed. 

Reason  can  scarce  attest  the  sudden  change  ; 
When  did  the  flower  of  hope,  so  fully  flushed, 

So  swiftly  fail,  with  portent  sad  and  strange? 


400  MAGNIFICENT  TRIBUTES  TO   MR.    McKlNLEY. 

Thine  was  the  glory  of  successful  rule, 

Thine,  in  thy  manly  youth,  the  warrior's  wreath. 
For  what  of  thy  good  service  might  a  fool 

Aim  at  thy  breast,  unarmed,  the  stroke  of  death? 
The  garlands  hung  on  thy  triumphal  way 

Shall  now  be  heaped  thy  mournful  bier  above, 
Yet  with  best  conquest  ends  the  noble  day, 

Resigmng  life,  but  keeping  faith  and  love. 

JULIA  WARD  HOWE. 

MOURNED  BY  EVERY  AMERICAN. 

He  was  the  Head  of  the  Nation,  lie  fell  in  its  service,  the  base 
hand  that  took  his  life  struck  dead  the  hostility  in  every  feeling 
heart  that  harbored  it,  and  he  passes  to  the  peace  of  the  grave 
mourned  not  by  such  as  were  his  friends,  only,  but  by  all  who 

bear  the  American  name. 

SAMUEL  L.   CLEMENS  (MARK  TWAIN). 

A  FIXED  STAR  IN  OUR  FIRMANENT. 

As  the  name  of  William  McKinley  becomes  fixed  in  the  firma- 
ment of  our  nation's  history  it  appears  to  us  at  once,  and  seems 
destined  to  remain  to  us,  a  name  to  charm  by.  Can  we  say  now,  so 
soon,  in  what  his  greatness  consists,  and  what  is  to  prove  at  last 
the  broadest  measure  of  his  permanent  fame  ?  With  certainty,  cer- 
tainly not;  yet  there  is  a  solace  in  the  effort  to  do  so,  that  at  least 
explains,  if  it  does  not  amply  justify,  so  early  an  endeavor. 

A  living  statesman  of  one  of  the  dynastic  governments  of 
Europe  is  currently  quoted  as  saying  that  the  fame  of  our  late 
President  will  be  that  he  was  the  greatest  commercial  statesman 
of  his  time.  If  this  be  so,  and  it  seems  very  near  the  truth,  what, 
then,  is  the  greatness,  and  what  are  the  limitations  of  "  com- 
mercial"  statesmanship  ?  Is  it  nearly  or  quite  the  highest 
degree,  or  is  it  nearly  or  quite  the  lowest  ?  Other  states- 
men have  delivered  their  peoples  from  the  perfidy  of  tyrants,  from 
the  oppression  of  nobles,  from  debasing  iniquities  of  ancient  cus- 
toms, from  bigots,  fanatics  and  robber  hordes  :  was  their  states- 
manship, therefore,  larger  than  a  commercial  statesmanship 
may  be  ? 


MAGNIFICENT  TRIBUTES  TO   MR.    McKlNLEY.  401 

Or  is  it  not  true  that  for  our  crowning  question  we  ask  con- 
cerning such  rulers,  "  What — after  they  had  dragged  down  the 
despot,  hurled  back  the  invader,  obliterated  the  pit  of  degradation 
— what  was  their  wisdom  and  power  to  uplift  and  push  forward 
those  industries  of  peace  which  prosper  the  main  mass  of  men, 
and  give  them  opportunity  and  incentive  for  the  arts,  the  sciences, 
the  virtues ;  how  much  did  their  statesmanship  do  to  fill  the  sail, 
to  oil  the  wr  eel,  to  light  the  mine,  to  speed  the  plow  and  the  loom  ?  " 

GREAT  COMMERCIAL    QUESTIONS. 

It  is  only  when  we  contemplate  the  world-wide  reach  of  great 
commercial  questions,  the  bewildering  intricacies  of  conflicting 
interests  and  theories,  the  far-reaching  disastrousness  of  their 
misunderstanding,  and  the  vast  beneficence  of  their  correct  solu- 
tion, that  we  are  prepared  to  confess  the  greatness  of  a  mind  and 
soul  that  confronts  and  answers  them  with  supreme  mastery. 

The  hoary  Eastern  question  is  and  has  always  been  a  prob- 
lem of  commercial  statesmanship.  Such  is  four-fifths  of  every 
foreign  policy  of  Europe.  It  was  a  blunder  of  commercial  states- 
manship that  lost  to  Great  Britain  her  American  colonies,  and  it 
is  on  commercial  statesmanship  that  her  modern  greatness  is 
largel}'  founded.  A  potential  factor  in  the  long  decay  of  Spain 
has  been  her  lack  of  commercial  statesmanship,  and  commercial 
statesmanship  is  to-day  the  consuming  study  of  every  worthy 
sovereign  and  of  every  cabinet  in  the  civilized  world. 

If  it  ever  seems  necessary  to  write  that  he  whose  loss  leaves 
our  nation  widowed  wrought  no  mighty  changes  in  our  general 
legislation,  achieved  no  vast  reform  in  our  institutions,  and 
righted  no  great  wrongs  between  conflicting  elements  of  the  popu- 
lation, the  word  must  go  with  it  that  his  public  life  was  without 
a  stain  of  dishonor,  that  he  was  a  model  of  private  virtue,  duty 
and  affection,  a  true  and  ardent  lover  of  mankind,  and  that  in  the 
mighty  functions  of  commercial  statesmanship  he  was  easily  first 
among  contemporary  statesmen  and  rulers,  the  greatest  of  his 

time. 

GEORGE  W.  CABLE. 
26 


402  MAGNIFICENT  TRIBUTES  TO   MR.    McKINLEY. 

AT  THE  EXPOSITION. 

THE  devil's  best  tools 
Are  the  fingers  of  fools. 
All  pious,  good  people, 
Who  live  in  a  steeple, 
Over  spire  and  gilt  vane 
Whirling  round,  round  again 
Like  joy  behind  sorrow  or  ease  after  pain. 
But  the  worst,  most  accursed, 
Is  prim  and  sedate 
He  stands  up  straight, 
So  lowly  elate, 
But  creeps  through  the  gate 
Into  rooms  of  the  great, 
And  cowers  in  the  chamber  of  State. 
Let  him  learn,  if  he  can  r±-~i 
The  first  lesson  of  Man, 
The  last,  for  he  must, 
He  shall  learn,  and  discern 
The  fire  of  live  coals  in  our  urn. 

RICHARD  HENRY  STODDARD. 
A  PATRIOT  OF  THE    NOBLEST  TYPE. 

William  McKinley,  like  some  who  went  before  him,  dies  a 
martyr  to  republican  institutions.  It  was  for  those  institutions 
that  our  fathers  fought  and  died  in  two  great  wars.  And  the 
President  of  this  Republic  represents  those  institutions  more 
than  any  other  man. 

The  nation  had  been  gradually  making  up  its  mind  about 
William  McKinley.  But  now  that  he  has  gone  from  our  midst, 
we  realize  suddenly  that  he  possessed  many  of  those  qualities, 
the  value  of  which  is  inestimable  in  his  situation. 

He  was  first  of  all  a  patriot  of  the  noblest  type.  For  he  had 
the  good  of  his  country  nearest  his  heart.  He  never  sought  to 
exalt  himself  at  the  expense  of  his  country.  Rather  he  sought 
to  efface  himself  in  his  submission  to  the  desires  of  the  people. 
He  was  willing  to  hear  and  heed  the  opinions  of  the  humblest 


MAGNIFICENT  TRIBUTES  TO   MR    McKINLEY.  403 

citizen.  It  was  sometimes  said  of  him  that  he  was  dominated. 
He  was  dominated,  but  by  no  man.  He  was  dominated  by  the 
voice  of  his  countrymen.  William  McKinley  will  live  in  history 
as  a  President  of  great  dignity,  moderation  and  wisdom  ;  as  a 
God-fearing  man,  whose  life  was  an  example  to  his  fellow-citizens. 
And  the  best  that  can  be  said  of  him  is  that  he  was  an  American. 
It  is  well  to  remember  that  a  government  of  the  people  has 
just  as  much  right  to  protect  itself  from  its  enemies  as  has  a 
monarchy. 

WINSTON  CHURCHILL. 

A  MAN  OF  GENEROUS  NATURE. 

While  I  feel  my  inadequacy  to  the  task,  I  am  highly  honored 
in  being  selected  with  others  to  express  sorrow  at  the  cruel  deed 
that  has  brought  desolation  to  a  home  and  grief  to  a  nation. 

In  doing  so  it  may  not  be  uninteresting  to  detail  a  few 
incidents  that  will  exhibit  the  social  and  kindly  side  of  Mr. 
McKinley 's  generous  nature.  Some  years  ago  I  visited  Canton, 
O.,  in  my  professional  capacity.  During  my  engagement  I  was 
invited  to  meet  the  then  Congressman  McKinley  at  the  house  of 
one  of  his  relatives.  He  entered  the  room  with  his  invalid  wife 
leaning  on  his  arm,  and  I  often  noticed  during  the  evening  his 
attentive  and  affectionate  solicitude  for  his  companion.  His 
manner  was  most  cordial  and  friendly. 

Our  next  meeting  was  in  Cleveland,  where  we  dined  together 
in  company  with  Mr.  Robert  Lincoln  and  Mr.  Mark  Hanna. 
That  night  the  entire  party  came  to  the  theatre  to  see  the  comedy 
of  the  "  Rivals,"  acted  by  the  star  cast. 

After  the  performance,  the  Congressman  came  behind  the 
curtain  and  was  introduced  to  the  company.  He  expressed  his 
enjoyment  of  the  play,  remarking  how  strange  it  was  that  such 
talent  was  not  oftener  brought  together.  "Possibly,"  he  said, 
"it  might  be  dangerous  to  give  the  public  too  much  of  a  good 
thing."  Our  next  meeting  was  after  he  became  President,  my 
wife  and  I  lunching  with  his  family  at  the  executive  mansion. 
General  and  Mrs.  Miles  were  also  of  the  company.  The  President 


404  MAGNIFICENT  TRIBUTES  TO   MR.    McKINLEY. 

seemed  interested  in  the  history  of  the  stage,  and  enjoyed  remi- 
niscences of  it  or  anecdotes  of  actors  with  great  relish. 

Passing  through  Washington  on  my  way  to  Florida,  I  called 
to  pay  my  respects.  This  was  just  at  the  time  when  strained 
relations  were  tightening  their  grip  upon  America  and  Spain. 
The  President  spoke  of  these,  but  expressed  a  hope  that  serious 
trouble  might  be  avoided.  I  told  him  that  I  traveled  much,  and 
that  I  gleaned  from  the  expressions  of  wise  and  thoughtful  men 
that  the  country  did  not  want  war.  He  replied,  "  I  am  glad  to 
hear  it."  This  was  before  the  destruction  of  the  "  Maine."  I 
have  met  him  several  times  since,  and  to  me  his  views  seemed 
broad  and  liberal. 

I  was  never  more  shocked  that  when  the  terrible  news  of  the 
assassination  was  brought  to  me  ;  our  household  was  in  a  fever 
of  excitement,  our  very  domestics  in  tears  ;  and  now,  that  the 
worst  has  come,  a  home  made  desolate  and  a  nation  plunged  in 
sorrow,  we  can  only  hope  that  time  may  soften  the  blow,  and  that 
wise  legislation  may  place  a  barrier  that  will  forever  prevent  the 
reoccurrence  of  such  an  act.  JOSEPH  JEFFERSON. 


T 


A  LIFE'S  STORY. 

WO  together  and  only  two — 

One  a  soldier  and  one  a  maid; 
Ev'ryskyis  heavenly  blue, 

And  all  the  dim  forebodings  fade. 
Two  together  and  only  two — 

One  a  husband  and  one  a  wife, 
Ready  to  walk  the  wide  world  through, 

Heart  and  hand  on  the  road  of  life. 
Two  together  and  only  two — 

Fronting  Fortune  and  braving  fears — 
Two  together  and  only  two 

Above  two  little  graves  in  tears. 
Two  together  and  only  two — 

He  a  Nation's  chosen  chief 
She  a  wife  to  follow  through 

The  massive  gates  that  lead  to  grief. 


MAGNIFICENT  TRIBUTES  TO   MR.    McKINLEY.  405 

Two  together  and  only  two—- 
One to  watch,  with  all  love's  wealth, 

One  to  walk  'mid  wilds  of  rue 

To  seek  the  pleasant  paths  of  health. 

Two  together  and  only  two — 

See  the  clouds  and  pains  depart 
From  the  Land's  first  lady,  who 

Is  still  first  lady  of  his  heart, 

Two  together  and  only  two — 

Cannons  boom  and  cities  cheer, 
Skies  are  bright  and  friends  are  true; 

Who  shall  say  that  death  is  near? 

Two  together  and  only  two — 

Joy  seems  sure  forever  more, 
Yet  the  hand  that  millions  drew 

Of  hearts  has  opened  Death's  dark  door. 

Two  together  and  only  two — 

While  amid  his  own  he  stands, 
Death  now  breaks  the  circle  through 

And  grasps  him  with  his  vise-like  hands. 

Two  together  and  only  two — 

Never  death  such  loving  parts, 
Loyal  wife  and  husband  true, 

For  Love  hath  wed  your  hands  and  hearts. 

Two  together  and  only  two — 

Peoples  pray  that  you  may  meet 
Where  the  dark  skies  change  to  blue, 

And  all  that's  bitter  turns  to  sweet. 

JOHN  BURNS. 
HIS    PLACE    IN    THE    NATIONAL    HEART. 

Who  lias  yet  invented  the  smokeless  powder  of  grief  ?  The 
first  emotions  consequent  on  a  great  public  catastrophe  are  like 
the  blur  of  an  oM-fashibned  battle  ;  it  is  only  when  the  atmosphere 
clears  that  we  begin  to  see  anything  plainly. 

The  nation  is  undergoing  something  like  what  the  surgeons 


406  MAGNIFICENT   TRIBUTES   TO    MR.    McKINLEY. 

call  shock.  The  sense  of  immeasurable  outrage  is  yet  so  keen, 
the  effects  of  a  ragged  wound  are  yet  so  severe,  that  we  scarcely 
know  where,  or  why,  we  are  most  hurt. 

While  the  black  draped  train  goes  ploughing  its  way  through 
flowers  half  across  the  continent,  while  the  nation  stands  uncov- 
ered before  the  catafalque,  who  can  calmly  estimate  the  martyr's 
personality  ?  But  it  is  not  his  position  in  history  that  you  seek 
to  define  ;  it  is  his  place  at  this  hour  in  the  national  heart  There 
can  be  no  doubt  that  this  is  a  very  strong,  warm  place.  The  pub- 
lic affection  closes  upon  him  jealously.  Few  men  of  our  times 
have  shown  a  more  remarkable  power  to  make  friends,  and  what 
is  more,  to  retain  them  (for  these  twain  are  not  one)  than  William 

McKinley. 

PERSONAL    KINDLINESS. 

Whoever  differed  from  him,  on  great  matters  or  small,  seems 
to  have  been  half  won  over,  and  wholly  mollified  by  the  personal 
kindliness  and  courtesy  of  the  man.  Political  opponents,  or  those 
of  his  own  party  who  could  not  follow  his  policy,  are  among  the 
first  to  do  him  honor  now. 

I  remember  how  generously  and  courteously  the  entreating 
protests  of  one  citizen  against  the  impending  war  were  received. 
These  took  the  form  of  letters  so  candid,  so  urgent,  and  so 
repeated  that  the  writer  could  have  felt  no  surprise  if  they  had 
been  disregarded  altogether.  Many  another  must  have  had 
similar  experience  and  come  away  from  it,  convinced  of  the  sin- 
cerity and  conscientiousness  of  the  man. 

These  personal  traits  ran  all  through  his  character.  Most 
remarkable  has  been  the  tribute  of  the  nation  to  McKinley,  the 
man  of  common,  human  virtues.  He  was  a  Christian  believer 
who  loved  his  God,  and  was  never  afraid  to  say  so;  who,  Christ- 
like,  forgave  his  murderer  on  the  first  impulse,  not  the  second  ; 
who  said  :  "  Don't  let  them  hurt  him,"  before  the  smoke  from  the 
assassin's  revolver  had  spent  itself  in  the  air  ;  who  died  breathing 
out  his  soul  in  sacred  words,  the  sincerity  of  which  commands 
absolute  respect.  In  a  time  when  faith  is  darkened,  and  religious 
character  unfashionable,  let  him  be  remembered  for  these  things. 


MAGNIFICENT  TRIBUTES   TO   MR.   McKINLEY.  407 

Most  touching,  too,  and  quite  as  remarkable  has  been  the 
profound,  wide  and  genuine  reverence  offered  to  the  domestic 
qualities  of  the  man.  In  a  day  when,  as  one  has  well  said,  the 
great  national  danger  is  "  the  decadence  of  the  home  idea,"  his 
private  life  shows  like  an  uplifted  hand — pointing  to  something 
higher  and  more  elect  than  most  of  us  attain  to  in  the  stress  and 
disillusion  of  daily  life. 

He,  the  husband  of  an  invalid  wife  who  was  never  suffered  to 
feel  that  her  misfortunes  encroached  upon  his  comfort,  sapped 
his  strength,  wearied  his  patience,  or  reduced  his  affection, 
deserves  all  the  tender  tears  that  fall  upon  his  bier — and  more. 

Many  an  obscure  citizen,  called  to  cherish  an  ailing  wife  at 
cost  of  personal  sacrifices  known  only  to  himself  and  to  her,  will 
feel  his  burden  lighter,  his  love  warmer,  his  courage  stronger, 
for  this  great  example.  And  many  a  sick  woman,  thinking : 
"  How  tender  he  is  to  me  to-day  ! "  will  have  reason  to  bless  the 
quiet  influence  of  the  dead  President,  who  found  it  inevitable  and 
made  it  manly  to  put  the  needs  of  the  woman  he  had  loved  and 
wedded  forever  in  the  foreground  of  his  heart  and  of  his  life. 

ELIZABETH  STUART  PHELPS  WARD. 

SLAIN  BY   A    HUMAN    REPTILE. 

President  McKinley's  murder  belongs,  as  do  those  of  Lincoln 
and  Oarfield,  to  the  category  of  crimes  that  could  not  be  fore- 
seen, nor  easily  averted.  It  is  like  a  clot  of  blood  flung  on  a  fair 
picture  by  the  hand  of  a  ruffian.  It  is  as  though  the  man,  rich 
in  the  love  and  respect  of  millions,  had  been  bitten  to  death  by  a 
reptile  or  a  rabid  dog.  We  may  crush  the  reptile  ;  we  may  kill 
the  dog  ;  but  their  extermination  will  not  bring  back  the  precious 
life,  nor  atone  for  its  loss.  The  loss  is  immeasurable,  the  punish- 
ment utterly  inadequate. 

A  noble  California  redwood  takes  centuries  to  reach  its  per- 
fect growth.  It  may  be  destroyed  in  a  day  by  a  spark  from  a 
careless  hunter's  camp  fire  or  by  the  ax  of  a  soulless  log-chopper. 
When  Lord  Rosse  had  finished  his  great  telescope,  after  years  of 
skilful  work,  and  at  the  cost  of  a  fortune,  he  generously  exhibited 


408  MAGNIFICENT  TRIBUTES  TO   MR.    McKINLEY. 

it  to  the  public  ;  and  one  of  the  first  men  who  canie  to  see  it  flung 
a  huge  stone  full  at  the  costly  lens  !  Fortunately  his  aim  was  as 
bad  as  his  heart ;  but  that  heart  was  filled  with  all  the  destructive 
spirit  of  an  assassin. 

The  same  man  would  have  as  recklessly  shot  at  a  president, 
or  king,  or  queen,  not  because  either  had  wronged  him,  but 
because  "the  Lord  had  respect  to  Abel  aud  to  his  offerings,"  and 
that  was  enough  for  Cain  ! 

The  vanity  of  human  grandeur  is  brought  home  to  us  more 
vividly  by  such  a  tragedy  than  by  the  assassination  of  any  royal 
potentate.  A  king  or  emperor  is  usually  born  to  his  high  estate. 
A  president  is  chosen  from  the  ranks  by  the  free  will  of  the 
people  ;  and  by  so  much  more  is  he  "the  state"  itself  than  any 
anointed  sovereign  can  be.  It  took  over  half  a  century  to  make 
a  president  of  this  man  whom  the  people  had  tried  and  found 
worthy  in  almost  every  station  of  public  life.  It  takes  time  to 
grow  a  redwood  tree.  Is  it  necessary  that  it  should  be  in  the 
power  of  any  idle  blackguard  to  cut  it  down  with  one  blow  ?  I 

think  not. 

HAND  SHAKING  CONDEMNED. 

There  is  nothing  democratic  about  permitting  anybody  and 
everybody  to  shake  the  hand  of  the  President.  Rather  is  it  a 
survival  of  the  old  royal  fashion  which  attached  a  certain  sanctity 
to  the  person  of  the  ruler,  and  made  the  subject  think  that  he 
was  enjoying  a  peculiar  privilege  by  being  allowed  to  see  and 
touch  the  precious  object.  The  President  is  the  chief  servant  of 
the  people,  and,  as  such,  he  has  constant,  serious,  arduous  work 
to  do.  His  master  has  no  right  to  interrupt  him  at  his  work,  nor 
to  intrude  upon  him  in  his  leisure.  Popular  levees  are  a  popular 
humbug,  meaningless,  tiresome,  dangerous.  Let  us  give  our 
heroes  the  boon  of  individual  freedom. 

Instead  of  doing  that,  we  burden  them  with  public  "  recep- 
tions," with  parades,  with  fulsome  panegyric,  or  stand  them  up 
to  be  kissed,  after  which  we  change  the  throne  to  the  pillory  and 
hurl  ridicule  at  them  in  place  of  bouquets.  Our  hero  does  a  truly 
daring  deed,  and  he  is  forthwith  thrust  upon  the  lecture  platform, 


MAGNIFICENT  TRIBUTES  TO    MR.    McKINLEY.  409 

interviewed  and  photographed  without  mercy,  and  then  given 
over  to  the  wits  and  witlings  because  he  has  been  too  gracious  to 
his  foolish  feminine  admirers. 

Another  is  covered  with  laurels,  until  he  offends  the  peculiar 
taste  of  an  ill-mannered  public  by  doing  as  he  sees  fit  with  the 
"Injun  gift"  of  a  house  which  he  unwisely  accepted  from  them. 
The  government  at  this  moment  is  sorting  out  the  tar  and 
feathers  for  one  or  the  other  or  both  of  the  two  heroes  whom  we 
set  upon  naval  pedestals  a  couple  of  years  ago.  The  hero  in  the 
hands  of  the  populace  is  like  the  South  American  spider  which 
must  flee  from  the  arms  of  his  spouse  before  she  has  time  to 

devour  him  ! 

RISK  OF  LIFE. 

Our  Presidents  are  too  valuable  to  have  their  lives  risked  at 
the  hands  of  any  chance  scoundrel  covetous  of  wide-spread 
infamy.  William  McKinley,  especially,  was  too  choice  a  product 
of  republican  institutions  to  be  destroyed  by  an  instrument  of 
disorder. 

His  successor  is  one  of  the  bravest  of  men.  Therefore,  he 
should  not  be  rash.  Therefore,  we,  the  people,  should  forego  the 
empty  privilege  of  forcing  ourselves  upon  his  privacy,  or  of 
asking  him  to  exhibit  himself  for  the  delectation  of  the  gaping 
multitude  and  the  weapon  of  another  possible  Booth  or  Guiteau, 
or  the  ignoble  beast  with  the  crooked  name  who  has  just  destroyed 
a  great  and  good  man. 

JAMES  JEFFREY  R©CHE.  (Editor  of  "The  Pilot") 

ABRAHAM  LINCOLN. 

FOULLY  ASSASSINATED  APRIL  14,  1865. 

This  is  the  remarkable  poem  in  which,  on  May  6,  1 865,  London  "  Punch  " 
confessed  its  error,  after  having  for  four  years  lampooned  Lincoln  with 
pencil  and  with  pen.  It  is  attributed  to  Tom  Taylor. 

rOU  lay  a  wreath  on  murdered  Lincoln's  bier 

You,  who  with  mocking  pencil  wont  to  trace, 
Broad  for  the  self-complacent  British  sneer, 

His  length  of  shambling  limb,  his  furrowed  face, 


Y 


410  MAGNIFICENT  TRIBUTES  TO   MR.    McKINLEY. 

His  gaunt,  gnarled  hands,  his  unkempt,  bristling  hair, 
His  garb  uncouth,  his  bearing  ill  at  ease, 

His  lack  of  all  we  prize  as  debonair, 

Of  power  or  will  to  shine,  of  art  to  please. 

You,  whose  smart  pen  backed  by  the  pencil's  laugh, 

Judging  each  step,  as  though  the  way  were  plain  ; 
Reckless,  so  it  could  point  a  paragraph, 

Of  Chief's  perplexity,  or  peoples'  pain. 

Besides  this  corpse,  that  bears  for  winding-sheet 
The  Stars  and  Stripes  he  lived  to  rear  anew, 

Between  the  mourners  at  his  head  and  feet, 

Say,  scurrile-jester,  is  there  room  for  you  ? 

Y«s,  he  had  lived  to  shame  me  from  my  sneer, 
To  lame  my  pencil,  and  confute  my  pen — 

To  make  me  own  this  hind  of  princes  peer, 

This  rail-splitter,  a  true  born  king  of  men. 

My  shallow  judgment  I  had  learned  to  rue, 
Noting  how  to  occasion's  hight  he  rose, 

How  his  quaint  wit  made  home-truth  seem  more  true, 
How,  iron-like,  his  temper  grew  by  blows. 

How  humbled  yet  how  hopeful  he  could  be  ; 

How  in  good  fortune  and  in  ill  the  same ; 
Nor  bitter  in  success,  nor  boastful  he, 

Thirsty  for  gold,  nor  feverish  for  fame. 

He  went  about  his  work — such  work  as  few 

Ever  had  laid  on  head  and  heart  and  hand — 

As  one  who  knows,  where  there's  a  task  to  do, 

Man's  honest  will  must  Heaven's  good  grace  command  ; 

Who  trusts  the  strength  will  with  the  burden  grow, 
That  God  makes  instruments  to  work  His  will, 

If  but  that  will  we  can  arrive  to  know, 

Nor  tamper  with  the  weights  of  good  and  ill. 

So  he  went  forth  to  battle,  on  the  side 

That  he  felt  clear  was  Liberty's  and  Right's, 

As  in  his  peasant  boyhood  he  had  piled 

His  warfare  with  rude  nature's  thwarting  mights — 


MAGNIFICENT  TRIBUTES  TO   MR.   McKINLEY.  41J 

The  uncleared  forest,  the  unbroken  soil, 

The  iron-bark,  that  turns  the  laborer's  ax, 
The  rapid  that  o'erbears  the  boatman's  toil, 

The  prairie,  hiding  the  mazed  wanderer's  tracks, 

The  ambushed  Indian,  and  the  prowling  bear — 

Such  were  the  needs  that  helped  his  youth  to  train  ; 

Rough  culture — but  such  trees  large  fruit  may  bear, 
If  but  their  stocks  be  of  right  girth  and  grain. 

So  he  grew  up,  a  destined  work  to  do, 

And  lived  to  do  it ;  four  long  suffering  years, 
Ill-fate,  ill-fortune,  ill-report,  lived  through, 

And  then  he  heard  the  hisses  changed  to  cheers, 

The  taunts  to  tribute,  the  abuse  to  praise, 

And  took  both  with  the  same  unwavering  mood  ; 

Till,  as  he  came  on  light,  from  darkling  days, 

And  seemed  to  touch  the  goal  from  where  he  stood, 

A  felon  hand,  between  the  goal  and  him, 

Reached  from  behind  his  back,  a  trigger  prest — 

And  those  perplexed  and  patient  eyes  were  dim, 

Those  gaunt,  long-laboring  limbs  were  laid  to  rest ! 

The  words  of  mercy  were  upon  his  lips, 

Forgiveness  in  his  heart  and  on  his  pen, 
When  this  vile  murderer  brought  swift  eclipse 

To  thoughts  of  peace  on  earth,  good  will  to  men. 

The  Old  World  and  the  New,  from  sea  to  sea, 

Utter  one  voice  of  sympathy  and  shame  ! 
Sore  heart,  so  stopped  when  it  at  last  beat  high, 

Sad  life,  cut  short  just  as  its  triumph  came. 

A  deed  accurst !     Strokes  have  been  struck  before 

By  the  assassin's  hand,  whereof  men  doubt 
If  more  of  horror  or  disgrace  they  bore  ; 

But  thy  foul  crime,  like  Cain's,  stands  darkly  out 

Vile  hand,  that  brandest  murder  on  a  strife, 

Whate'er  its  grounds,  stoutly  and  nobly  striven  ; 

And  with  the  martyr's  crown  crownest  a  life 
With  much  to  praise  little  to  be  forgiven  ! 


41*  MAGNIFICENT   TRIBUTES   TO   MR.    McKINLEY. 

AFTER  THE   BURIAL. 

Written  for  the  "  Boston  Globe's"  Garfield  Memorial  Edition,  Sept.  27,  1881. 

I. 

FALLEN  with  autumn's  falling  leaf, 
Ere  yet  his  summer's  noon  was  past, 
Our  friend,  our  guide,  our  trusted  chief — 
What  words  can  match  a  woe  so  vast, 

And  whose  the  chartered  claim  to  speak 

The  sacred  grief  where  all  have  part, 
When  sorrow  saddens  every  cheek 

And  broods  in  every  aching  heart  ? 

Yet  nature  prompts  the  burning  phrase 
That  thrills  the  hushed  and  shrouded  hall, 

The  loud  lament,  the  sorrowing  praise, 
The  silent  tear  that  love  let's  fall. 

In  loftiest  verse,  in  lowliest  rhyme, 

Shall  strive  unblamed  the  minstrel  choir — 

The  singers  of  the  new-born  time 

And  trembling  age  with  outworn  lyre. 

N©  room  for  pride,  no  place  for  blame — 

We  fling  our  bosoms  on  the  grave 
Pale — scentless — faded — all  we  claim, 

This  only — what  we  had  we  gave. 

Ah,  could  the  grief  of  all  who  mourn 

Btend  in  one  voice  its  bitter  cry, 
The  wail  t&  Heaven's  high  arches  borne 

Would  echo  through  the  caverned  sky. 

II. 
O  happiest  land  whose  peaceful  choice 

Fills  with  a  breath  its  empty  throne  ! 
God,  speakitig  through  thy  peoples  voice, 

Has  made  that  voice  for  once  his  own. 

No  angry  passion  shakes  the  state 

Wfrose  weary  servant  seeks  for  rest 
And  who  could  fear  that  scowling  hate 

Would  strike  at  that  unguarded  breast  ? 


MAGNIFICENT  TRIBUTES  TO   MR.  McKlNLEY, 

He  stands,  unconscious  of  his  doom 
In  manly  strength,  erect,  serene — 

Around  him  summer  spreads  her  bloom — 
He  falls — what  horror  clothes  the  scene  ! 

How  swift  the  sudden  flash  of  woe 

Where  all  was  bright  as  childhood's  dream  ) 

As  if  from  heaven's  ethereal  bow 

Had  leaped  the  lightning's  arrowy  gleam. 

Blot  the  foul  deed  from  history's  page — 

Let  not  the  all  betraying  sun 
Blush  for  the  day  that  stains  an  age 

When  murder's  blackest  wreath  was  won. 

Pale  on  his  couch  the  sufferer  lies, 
The  weary  battleground  of  pain  ; 

Love  tends  his  pillow,  science  tries 
Her  every  art,  alas  !  in  vain. 

The  strife  endures  how  long  !  how  long ! 

Life,  death,  seem  balanced  in  the  scale, 
While  round  his  bed  a  viewless  throng 

Awaits  each  morrow's  changing  tale. 

In  realms  the  desert  ocean  parts 

What  myriads  watch  with  tear-filled  eyes. 

His  pulse  beats  echoing  in  their  hearts, 
His  breathing  counted  with  their  sighs  ! 

Slowly  the  stores  of  life  are  spent, 
Yet  hope  still  battles  with  despair — 

Will  Heaven  not  yield  when  knees  are  bent  ? 
Answer,  O  Thou  that  hearest  prayer  1 

But  silent  is  the  brazen  sky — 

On  sweeps  the  meteor's  threatening  train — 
Unswerving  Nature's  mute  reply, 

Bound  in  her  admantine  chain. 

Not  ours  the  verdict  to  decide 

Whom  death  shall  claim  or  skill  shall  save : 
The  hero's  life  though  Heaven  denied 

It  gave  our  land  a  martyr's  grave. 


414  MAGNIFICENT  TRIBUTES  TO   MR.    McKINLEV. 

Nor  count  the  teaching  vainly  sent 

How  human  hearts  their  griefs  may  share—- 
The lesson  woman's  love  has  lent, 

What  hope  may  do,  what  faith  can  bear ! 

Farewell !  the  leaf-strown  earth  enfolds 
Our  stay,  our  pride,  our  hopes,  our  fears, 

And  autumn's  golden  sun  beholds 
A  nation  bowed,  a  world  in  tears. 

OLIVER  WENDELL  HOLMES. 


CHAPTER  XXI. 

Additional  Tributes  to  President  McKinley — Messages  from 
Crowned  Heads— Canada  Observes  the  Day  of  Obse- 
quies—All Business  Suspended  Throughout  Our  Country. 

DEPLYING  to  Mrs.  McKinley's  acknowledgment  of  his  tele- 
*  ^  gram  of  sympathy,  King  Edward  telegraphed  to  Ambas- 
sador Choate : 

"  Please  convey  to  Mrs.  McKinley  my  best  thanks  for  her 
kind  message.  The  Queen  and  I  feel  most  deeply  for  her  in  the 
hour  of  her  great  affliction  and  pray  that  God  may  give  her 
strength  to  bear  her  heavy  cross.  Our  thoughts  will  to-day  be 
especially  with  the  American  nation  when  its  distinguished  Presi- 
dent is  laid  to  rest.  "  EDWARD  R." 

Throughout  Ontario  the  day  of  the  funeral  was  observed  as 
a  day  of  mourning  for  the  late  President  McKinley.  In  accord- 
ance with  instructions  from  Ottawa,  the  schools  and  courts  in 
Toronto  and  other  cities  were  closed.  Memorial  services,  attended 
by  crowds,  were  held  by  the  leading  churches,  where  tributes 
were  paid  to  the  martyred  President  and  his  favorite  hymns  were 
sung. 

The  Dominion  Methodist  Church  at  Ottawa  was  crowded 
with  those  who  took  part  in  the  memorial  services.  Rev.  S.  G. 
Bland,  Methodist,  and  Rev.  A.  A.  Cameron,  Baptist,  delivered 
brief  sermons  and  all  the  other  Protestant  denominations  assisted 
in  the  service.  In  front  of  the  pulpit  the  Union  Jack  and  the 
Stars  and  Stripes  were  crossed  and  draped  in  black.  The  church 
was  also  draped  and  decorated  and  the  choir  was  all  in 
black. 

Rev.  Mr.  Bland  spoke  of  McKinley  as  a  typical  American 
citizen  and  said  that  a  country  which  could  produce  such  men  as 
Lincoln,  Garfield  and  McKinley  could  not  be  called  a  failure. 

415 


416  ADDITIONAL  TRIBUTES  TO  PRESIDENT  McKlNLEY. 

All  the  Cabinet  Ministers  who  were  in  the  city  and  who  could 
possibly  attend  were  present  at  the  service.  Colonel  Turner,  the 
United  States  Consul  General,  was  present. 

Sir  Thomas  Lipton  said,  on  board  his  steam  yacht,  the 
"Brin,"  referring  to  the  shooting  of  the  President:  "I  was 
stunned  on  receiving  the  news.  I  could  feel  no  worse  if  it  had 
been  King  Edward  himself  who  had  been  shot.  I  am  sure  that 
every  Britisher  extends  the  hand  of  sympathy  to  all  Americans 
in  this  sad  affair." 

"'Twas  as  the  general  pulse 

Of  life  stood  still,  and  Nature  made  a  pause. 

An  awful  pause  !     Prophetic  of  her  end." 

PAUSE  OF  A  CONTINENT. 

Solemn  and  impressive  beyond  the  power  of  words  to  describe 
was  that  deathlike  pause  of  a  continent  when  the  last  sad  rites 
were  being  paid  at  Canton.  Those  who  saw  the  mighty  crowds 
in  all  our  cities  when,  at  the  first  stroke  of  the  tolling  bells,  all 
motion  ceased,  all  heads  were  bared,  and  the  silence  of  death  fell 
upon  the  scene,  to  be  emphasized  a  moment  later  by  the  stifled 
sobs  of  women,  will  never  forget  the  scene. 

All  over  the  continent  similar  scenes  were  being  enacted. 
The  factory,  the  forge  and  the  loom  were  stilled.  Steamships 
upon  the  waters  and  railway  trains  climbing  the  mountains  and 
crossing  the  plains  stood  still,  while  eighty  millions  of  people 
with  bowed  heads  thought  only  of  their  dead  President,  borne  to 
his  last  resting  place  in  the  little  cemetery  in  Ohio. 

Affecting  obsequies  were  held  in  Westminster  Abbey  and 
St.  Paul's,  the  services  being  attended  by  throngs  as  deeply 
moved  as  those  that  filled  the  churches  throughout  the  United 
States.  All  round  the  globe  there  was  mourning.  The  whole 
civilized  world  took  part  in  the  funeral  of  the  beloved  Chief 
Magistrate  of  the  American  people.  He  is  gone,  but  his  story 
remains  to  inspire  the  struggling  youth  of  his  country,  and  his 
character  to  help  future  generations  in  forming  sweet,  patriotic 
and  lofty  ideals  of  life  and  conduct. 


ADDITIONAL  TRIBUTES  TO  PRESIDENT  McKINLEY.  417 

"  'Old  Glory'  hangs  low  and  the  gentle  wind's  breath 

Seems  to  touch  with  sweet  kindness  the  emblems  of  death, 
There's  a  tear  in  the  eye  and  a  weight  on  the  heart, 
And  a  cloud  in  the  sky  that  will  not  depart. 

"  We  prayed  he  might  live  :     Thou  hast  answered  our  prayer, 
In  a  way  we  least  thought  in  our  depths  of  despair. 
He  lives  and  shall  live  until  Time  is  no  more, 
And  the  Ship  of  State  grounds  on  Eternity's  shore. 

"  For  to  live  was  to  leave  all  the  laurels  he'd  won, 
And,  taking  Thy  hand,  whisper,  '  Thy  will  be  done.' 
His  life  showed  a  man  on  whom  man  could  rely, 
His  death  showed  the  world  how  a  Christian  can  die." 

STRIKING  SENTENCES  FROM  THE  EULOGIES. 

"  The  cause  of  this  universal  mourning  is  to  be  found  in  the 
man  himself." — Rev.  C.  E.  Manchester's  Funeral  Address  at  Canton. 

"  One  hundred  thousand  preachers  in  100,000  sermons  could 
not  have  taught  as  much  as  these  last  words  :  '  It  is  God's  way  ; 
His  will,  not  ours,  be  done.'  " — Rev.  Dr.  Henry  C.  Me  Cook. 

"  In  the  temple  of  American  honor  another  is  written  among 
the  immortals." — Rev.  O.  B.  Millgari's  Opening  Prayer. 

"  An  obedient  and  affectionate  son,  patriotic  and  faithful  as  a 
soldier,  honest  and  upright  as  a  citizen,  tender  and  devoted  as  a 
husband,  and  truthful,  generous,  unselfish,  moral  and  clean  in 
every  relation  of  life." — Grover  Cleveland. 

"  He  was  never  so  much  alive  as  now.  It  is  God's  way." — 
Rev.  John  R.  Paxton. 

"He  has  intensified  and  energized  our  love  of  country  and 
our  devotion  to  our  political  institutions." — Cardinal  Gibbons. 

.  "  I  know  of  nothing  more  sublime  in  all  the  roll  of  martyrs 
or  heroes  than  the  calm  and  child-like  resignation  with  which  he 
said,  'It  is  God's  Avay  ;  His  will  be  done.' '  —James  M.  Beck. 

"  Whatever  he  did,  was  done  for  the  general  welfare  ;  like 
Lincoln  and  Garfield,  he  was  too  good  an  American  to  care  to  be 
rich." — Wayne  MacVeagh. 

27 


418  ADDITIONAL  TRIBUTES  TO  PRESIDENT  McKlNLEY. 

A  leading  journal  thus  voices  the  popular  feeling  : 

"  Once  more  thy  head  is  bowed  in  dreadful  shame, 

O  Liberty  !  Thy  cheeks  are  wet  with  tears  ! 
Once  more  the  far  off  skeptic  speaks  thy  name 

And  on  his  fellows'  faces  notes  the  sneers ! 

Out  from  the  darkness  of  the  drear,  dead  years 
The  foul  old  crimson  claw  again  is  thrust, 
Once  more  the  voice  of  doubt  assails  our  ears, 
Once  more  we  press  our  faces  to  the  dust, 
But  in  our  hearts,  thank  God,  there  still  is  trust. 
O  Freedom,  though  they  strike  thee  down,  thy  head 

Shall  still  be  raised,  and  still  thy  voice  shall  guide  ! 
And  thou  shall  even  grasp  and  crush  the  red, 

Smeared  hand  whose  ugly  stain  is  on  thy  side  ! 

Though  sobs  are  heard  where  yesterday  the  pride 
Of  honor  and  of  strength  had  ample  tongue. 

Though  doubters  may  be  eager  to  deride, 
Still  hope,  thank  God,  is  ours — thank  God,  the  young 
Brave  heart  beats  on  that  is  so  sadly  wrung.  " 

GRANDEUR  OF  HIS  CAREER. 

Another  journal  thus  expresses  the  national  sorrow : 

'"  He  the  more  fortunate  !  yea,  he  hath  finished  ! 

For  him  there  is  no  longer  any  future. 

His  life  is  bright— bright  without  spot  it  was 

And  cannot  cease  to  be.     No  ominous  hour 

Knocks  at  his  door  with  tidings  of  mishap.' 

Far  off  is  he,  above  desire  and  fear  ; 

No  more  submitted  to  the  change  and  chance 

Of  the  unsteady  planets.     O,  'tis  well 

With  him.' 

"  Nothing  has  given  more  dignity  and  grandeur  to  the  career 
of  the  departed  President  than  his  dying  hour.  Of  all  the 
impressive  words  that  he  has  spoken  in  his  lifetime,  and  they 
were  very  many,  none  are  so  sure  of  immortal  remembrance  as 
his  last  conscious  message,  'It  is  God's  way  ;  His  will  be  done.' 
In  these  words  flashed  forth  for  the  last  time  on  earth  the  soul 
of  William  McKiuley,  a  touching,  thrilling  revelation  of  his  pro- 
found faith,  his  undying  trust  in  God,  and  of  his  submissive  yet 
courageous  manhood.  Who  has  faced  the  King  of  Terrors  more 


ADDITIONAL  TRIBUTES  TO  PRESIDENT   McKINLEY.  419 

intrepidly,  more  nobly  ?  He  was  summoned  in  the  fulness  of 
earthly  achievement,  honor  and  triumph,  at  the  summit  of  his 
powers,  and  in  the  midst  of  duty  well  done  in  an  exalted  past,  to 
the  rewards  of  those  who  are  faithful  unto  death. 

"  It  is  well  to-day  with  the  martyred  President.  His  taking 
off,  as  he  himself  fully  recognized,  is  a  part  of  the  inscrutable 
plan  of  God's  rule  and  government,  to  which  we  are  all,  from 
the  most  exalted  to  the  humblest,  subject.  This  is  a  startling 
reminder  that  this  is  a  world  in  which  there  are  no  accidents. 
There  are  none  such  in  the  economy  of  God. 

ASTOUNDED  AT  THE  CRIME. 

"The  ways  of  Providence  are  beyond  searching.  Ex-Presi- 
dent Cleveland,  in  referring  to  the  sad  event,  said  that  in  the 
gloom  surrounding  the  third  presidential  murder  it  is  hard 
to  repress  '  a  feeling  of  stunning  amazement  that  in  free  America, 
blessed  with  a  conservative  government  consecrated  to  popular 
welfare  and  contentment,  the  danger  of  the  assassin  should 
ever  encompass  the  faithful  discharge  of  the  highest  official  duty. 
It  is  hard  at  such  a  time  as  this  to  await  calmly  and  patiently 
the  unfolding  of  the  purpose  of  God.' 

"  The  only  answer  is,  '  It  is  God's  way;  His  will  be  done.' 
We  cannot  fathom  the  Divine  purposes  in  the  awful  event.  This 
we  know,  that  it  has  brought  a  common  bereavement,  impressed 
upon  us  the  oneness  of  American  citizenship  in  moments  of 
national  loss  or  danger.  We  divide  into  parties  and  factious;  we 
clamor  for  diverse  national  political  policies,  and  differ  noisily 
about  this  course  of  action  and  that.  There  are  strenuous  periods 
when  the  people  seem  to  have  no  common  interest,  and  proclaim 
that  their  differences  are  irreconcilable.  But  when  the  President 
is  stricken  the  whole  country  is  united  by  the  solemn  event,  and 
it  is  revealed  how  helpful,  how  necessary  it  is  that  we  should  be 
reminded  that  we  are  one  people,  with  one  destiny  and  one  hope. 
The  discipline  of  sorrow  and  bereavement  is  always  hard  to  under- 
stand and  to  bear.  We  must  bow  to  it.  '  It  is  God's  way  ;  His 
will  be  done.' 


420  ADDITIONAL  TRIBUTES  TO  PRESIDENT   McKINLEY. 

"The  sad  event  has  bound  in  closer  ties  the  English  speaking 
peoples.  The  death  of  Queen  Victoria  brought  out  a  wonderful 
expression  of  sorrow  in  the  United  States.  It  was  beyond  imagii 
ing  that  our  kin  beyond  the  sea  would  so  soon  be  mourning  the 
death  of  a  President  of  the  United  States.  We  have  moved  far 
along  the  path  of  international  good  will  when  nations  thus  deplore 
the  demise  of  foreign  rulers.  The  Hnglish  demonstrations  are 
peculiarly  significant.  The  English  newspapers  have  gone  into 
mourning. 

ENGLISH  COURT  IN   MOURNING. 

"  King  Edward  has  commanded  the  court  to  go  into  mourning, 
and  at  all  public  meetings  called  for  any  purpose  fitting  reference 
has  been  made  to  President  McKinley's  death.  English  news- 
papers suggest  that  the  Duke  of  Cornwall  and  York,  the  heir  to 
the  throne,  shall  attend  the  obsequies.  These  incidents  indicate 
that  the  English  speaking  peoples  are  practically  one,  not  in  a 
political  sense,  but  are  one  in  sympathy.  The  American  loss  is, 
in  a  very  accurate  sense,  the  world's  loss.  These  tokens  of  sincere 
grief  in  distant  lands  dignify  and  ennoble  human  nature,  and  we 
trust  are  the  harbingers  of  the  millennial  peace." 

No  less  touching  is  the  eulogy  that  follows  : 

"In  the  course  of  his  splendid  eulogy  pronounced  at  the 
Webster  memorial  meeting,  held  in  Boston  shortly  after  the 
famous  statesman's  death,  Rufus  Choate  said,  as  a  climax  to  many 
brilliant  passages  : 

"  'His  plain  neighbors  loved  him,  and  one  said  when  Web- 
ster was  laid  in  the  grave  '  How  lonesome  the  world  seems  ! ' 

u  Probably  no  portion  of  Choate' s  great  effort  threw  a  broader 
beam  of  light  upon  the  character  of  the  real  Webster.  The  vast 
concourse  of  President  McKinley's  old  time  friends,  fellow  towns- 
men and  neighbors  which  assembled  yesterday  at  Canton,  and 
the  vaster  assembly  of  the  nation  which  was  present  at  Canton  in 
thought  and  reverent  sympathy,  were  a  heartfelt  tribute  to  the 
martyred  head  of  the  nation.  Not  this  alone.  It  was  a  mark  of 


ADDITIONAL  TRIBUTES  TO  PRESIDENT  MCKINLEY.  421 

recognition  of  the  superb  manhood  that  was  in  him,  a  quality 
which  always  reveals  itself  to  the  'plain  people,'  of  whom  Lin- 
coln spoke  always  with  the  profoundest  respect  and  affection,  and 
with  whom  McKinley  and  Lincoln  and  the  greatest  of  earth  have 
been  proud  to  claim  kinship. 

"That  President  McKinley  was  a  popular  President  was 
made  sufficiently  evident  in  his  lifetime  by  his  success  in  the 
political  arena  ;  but  it  was  by  his  death  that  we  fully  appreciated 
how  firm  was  his  hold  on  the  affections  and  regard  of  the  Ameri- 
can people.  His  taking  off  came  like  a  family  bereavement,  and 
the  universal  sorrow  carried  with  it  a  feeling  of  personal  loss. 
The  nation  ceased  its  toil.  The  wheels  of  industry  stopped.  In 
every  city  and  village  in  the  land  memorial  services  were  held. 
In  the  solemn  observances  yesterday  all  sects  and  creeds  and  all 
earthly  divisions  and  distinctions  were  effaced  in  the  common 
bereavement. 

HONORED  BY  HIS  OPPONENTS. 

"Some  of  the  finest  tributes  to  President  McKinley' s  memory 
came  from  his  political  opponents.  He  has  joined  the  immortals. 
We  may  say  of  him,  as  Beecher  said  of  Lincoln  : 

"  l  In  the  midst  of  this  great  continent  his  dust  shall  rest  a 
sacred  treasure  to  myriads  who  shall  pilgrim  to  that  shrine  to 
kindle  anew  their  zeal  and  their  patriotism.' 

"  The  nation  comes  forth  from  its  affliction  confident  of  its 
future,  rejoicing  in  its  strength,  and,  we  believe,  more  thoroughly 
united  than  it  has  ever  been.  It  was  the  frequently  expressed 
wish  of  President  McKinley  that  the  sectionalism  that  still  lingers 
among  us  as  the  reminiscence  of  old  strifes  should  be  abolished. 
May  we  not  hope  that  this  wish  will  be  fully  realized  ?  At  no 
time  has  the  outlook  for  the  national  prosperity  been  more  prom- 
ising. We  have  reached  another  '  era  of  good  feeling '  in  our 
domestic  politics.  The  conciliator}*,  just  and  patriotic  motives 
and  policy^  of  the  late  President  did  much  to  soften  partisan 
rancor. 

"  His   reciprocity  policy,  as   outlined  in  his  Buffalo  speech, 


422  ADDITIONAL  TRIBUTES  TO  PRESIDENT   McKINLEY. 

his  last  formal  utterance  on  political  themes,  make  for  industrial 
peace  and  a  compromise  between  those  holding  diverse  economical 
opinions.  Abroad  the  United  States  is  universally  respected  as 
one  of  the  world's  greatest  Powers,  standing  for  international 
good  will.  The  new  head  of  the  nation  represents  the  spirit  of 
the  new  American  age,  and  by  inclination  as  well  as  by  his  direct 
pledge  will  continue  the  policies  which  have  been  so  successfully 
developed  by  President  McKinley,  and  have  received  the  popular 
approval  at  the  polls. 

"Our  Ship  of  State  will  not  always  find  smooth  seas,  but  it 
has  weathered  many  a  stormy  cape  in  safety.  The  loss  of  three 
Presidents  by  assassination,  and  a  Civil  War  which  brought  the 
nation  to  the  severest  test  of  its  self-saving  power,  cautious  us 
that  the  freest  and  most  beneficent  Government,  formed  to  avoid 
the  oppressions  and  wrongs  of  despotism,  cannot  expect  exemption 
from  peril.  The  nation  has  been  sufficient  for  its  self-preserva- 
tion in  the  darkest  hour.  It  faces  the  future  as  a  strong  man 
faces  the  duties  and  the  responsibility  of  a  new  day." 

RESPECT  AND  ADMIRATION. 

Many  civic  bodies  gave  expression  to  their  respect  and 
admiration  for  Mr.  McKinley  by  formally  passing  resolutions, 
accompanied  by  glowing  speeches  at  the  time  of  their  adoption. 
One  of  the  greatest  demonstrations  of  this  kind  was  by  the  Union 
League,  of  Philadelphia.  One  of  the  resolutions  was  the  fol- 
lowing : 

"  That  the  Union  League  expresses  unbounded  admiration 
of  his  private  character,  which  was  a  model  in  all  of  life's  relations. 
A  kindly  man,  whose  genial  presence  prompted  confidence  that 
was  never  betrayed  ;  a  tender  husband,  whose  loving  devotion  was 
a  perfect  type  of  marital  life  ;  an  upright  Christian,  whose  daily 
life  and  brave  death  is  an  inspiration,  his  untimely  taking  off  has 
called  forth  the  heartfelt  sympathy  of  the  civilized  world." 

In  speaking  of  the  resolution  United  States  Senator  Penrose 
said  :  u  For  2000  miles  I  have  traveled  across  the  American  conti- 


ADDITIONAL  TRIBUTES  TO  PRESIDENT   McKINLEY.  423 

nent,  starting  the  day  cm  which  the  President  died,  and  I  shall 
never  forget  the  extraordinary  scene  which  was  witnessed  every 
mile  of  the  route.  Great  crowds  at  every  station,  all  classes  and 
conditions,  very  many  in  the  Western  part  of  our  great  country 
of  the  opposite  political  party,  and  all  in  hushed  expectation  to 
receive  the  latest  details  of  the  President's  death,  all  oppressed 
with  a  sense  of  humiliation  and  shame  and  indignation  that  sucl 
an  event  could  have  happened  in  free  America. 

"Even  while  passing  through  the  portion  of  country  where 
the  prosperity  of  the  people  has  been  affected  by  the  decline  in 
the  value  of  silver  there  was  sorrow  and  indignation  at  this  dread- 
ful event  which  has  occurred  in  the  history  of  our  country 
came  to  the  town  which  was  his  home  and  there  were  people  from 
all  over  the  United  States,  but  particularly  from  the  adjacent  por- 
tions of  Ohio,  men  had  brought  their  wives  and  their  children  and 
hid  driven  for  miles.     They  thronged  the  streets  and  stood  thei 
until  late  in  the  afternoon  that  they  might  catch  a  passing  glimpse 
of  the  hearse  containing  the  body  of  their  beloved  President. 

WREATHS  OF  POETRY. 

Poets   in  graceful  verse,  sang  the   praises  of  the  martyred 
President,'  as  will  be  seen  from  the  following  effusions  : 

«  '  Nearer  to  Thee,'  with  dying  lips  he  spoke 

The  sacred  words  of  Christian  hope  and  cheer, 
As  toward  the  Valley  of  the  Shadow  passed 

His  calm,  heroic  soul  that  knew  not  fear. 
•  Thy  will  be  done  ; '  the  anxious  watchers  heard 

The  faint,  low  whisper  in  the  silent  room  ; 
Earth's  darkness  merging  fast  into  the  dawn, 

Eternal  Day  for  Night  of  sombre  gloom. 
'  It  is  God's  will  ; '  as  he  had  lived  he  died— 

Statesman  and  soldier,  fearing  not  to  bear 
Fate's  heavy  cross  ;  while  swift  from  sea  to  sea 

Rolled  the  deep  accents  of  a  nation's  prayer. 
«  Dust  unto  dust ; '  in  solemn  state  he  lies 

Who  bowed  to  Death,  yet  won  a  deathless  name, 
And  wears  in  triumph  on  his  marble  brow 

The  martyr's  crown,  the  hero's  wreath  of  tame. 


.424  ADDITIONAL  TRIBUTES  TO  PRESIDENT   McKINLEY. 

It  is   fitting   that   we  should   find   a   place   here   for  Walt 
Whitman's  lines  on  the  death  of  Lincoln  : 

"Hushed  be  the  camps  to-day, 
And  soldiers,  let  us  drape  our  war-worn  weapons 
And  each  with  musing  soul  retire  to  celebrate 
Our  dear  commander's  death. 

No  more  for  him  life's  stormy  conflicts, 
Nor  victory,  nor  defeat — no  more  time's  dark  events, 
Charging  like  ceaseless  clouds  across  the  sky. 

But  sing,  poet,  in  our  name, 

Sing  of  the  love  we  bore  him— because  you,  dwellers  in  camps  knew 
it  truly. 

As  they  invault  the  coffin  there, 

Sing— as  they  close  the  doors  of  earth  upon  him— one  verse 
For  the  heavy  hearts  of  soldiers." 

SENATOR  FORAKER'S  EULOGY. 

One  of  the  most  eloquent  eulogies  on  Mr.  McKinley  came 
from  United  States  Senator  Foraker,  who  was  long  and  intimately 
associated  with  him.  The  Senator  said : 

"In  the  vigor  of  robust  manhood;  at  the  very  height  of  his 
powers  ;  in  the  possession  of  all  his  faculties  ;  in  the  midst  of  a 
great  work  of  world-wide  importance  ;  in  the  enjoyment  of  the 
admiration,  love  and  affection  of  all  classes  of  our  people  to  a 
degree  never  before  permitted  to  any  other  man  ;  at  a  time  of  pro- 
found peace,  when  nothing  was  occurring  to  excite  the  pas- 
sions of  men  ;  when  we  were  engaged  in  a  celebraion  of  the 
triumphs  of  art,  science,  literature,  commerce,  civilization  and  all 
that  goes  to  make  up  the  greatest  prosperity,  advancement  and 
happiness  the  world  has  ever  known;  surrounded  by  thousands  of 
his  countrymen,  vying  with  each  other  in  demonstrations  of  friend- 
ship and  good-will,  the  President  of  the  United  States,  without  a 
moment's  warning,  was  stricken  down  by  an  assassin,  who,  while 
greeting  him  with  one  hand  shot  him  to  death  with  the  other. 

'We   can    scarce  realize   that   such  a   crime   was  possible, 
much  less  that  it  has  been  actually  committed,  and  our  sorrow  is 


ADDITIONAL  TRIBUTES  TO  PRESIDENT   McKlNLEY.  42t 

yet  too  fresh,  our  grief  too  poignant  and  onr  indignation  too  acute 
for  us  to  contemplate  it  dispassionately  or  discuss  it  considerately. 
"  But  while  we  can't  now  speak  becomingly  of  the  murderer 
and  hir  awful  crime,  we  can  fittingly  employ  this  hour  to  com- 
memorate the  virtues  of  his  victim  and  to  recount,  in  par 
his  great  services  to  his  country. 

"  The  allotted  age  of  man  is  three-score  and  ten,  but  Wil 
McKinley  was  not  yet  59  when  his  career  ended      In  these  sh, 
years  he  did  a  wondrous  work.     In  its  accomplishment  he  was 
unaided  by  fortuitous  circumstances.     He  was  of  humble  origin 
and  without  influential  friends,  except  as  he  made  them. 

"He  died  prond  of  his  work  and  in  the  just  expectation  that 
time  will  vindicate  his  wisdom,  his  purpose  and  his  lab, 
it  will.  THE  CROWNING  TRIUMPH. 

"  What  he  was  not  permitted  to  finish  will  be  taken  up  by 
other  hands,  and  when  the  complete,  crowning  triumph  comes,  i 
will  rest  upon  the  foundations  he  has  laid. 

"  His  great  loss  to  the  country  will  not  be  in  connection  with 
policies  now  in  process  of  solution,  but  rather  in  connection  with 
ew  questions.  What  he  has  marked  out  and  put  the  impress  of 
h  s  greafZe  upon  will  receive  the  unquestioned  support  of  his 
own  party  and  of  the  great  majority  of  the  American  people.  He 
hid  so  gained  the  confidence  of  his  followers  and  'he  whole 
country  in  his  leadership  that  practically  all  differences  of  opinion 
on  new  propositions  would  have  yielded  to  his  judgment 

••  And  when  the  dread  hour  of  dissolution  overtook  him  and 
the  last  touching  farewell  had  been  spoken  he  sank  to  rest  inur- 
mur  ng  Nearer"  My  God,  to  Thee.'  This  was  his  last  triumph 
hfs  greatest.  His  whole  life  was  given  to  humanity,  but 


eeneratious  yet  unborn  like  a  soothing 
fortitude  and  resignation  give  us  a 


what  was  in  the  Apostle's  mind  when  he  «"*4, 
where  is  thy  sting  ?  O,  grave,  where  is  thy  victory  ? 


CHAPTER  XXII. 

Personal  Traits  of  Mr.  McKinley—  Reminiscences  of  His 
Boyhood—  Anecdotes  and  Incidents—  His  Kind  Heart- 
Affection  for  Old  Friends.-Never  Swerved  from  the  Path 
of  Duty. 

ROYALTY  to  old  friends,  absolutely  without  regard  to  their 
worldly  station,  was  a  conspicuous  trait  of   Mr  McKinley'^ 
character.     It  is  related  that  at  the  second  inauguration  among 
:he  White  House  guests  were  Jack  Adams,  who  runs   the  Presi- 
dent's farm  near  Canton,  and  his   friend,   Mr.  Alexander,  a  tin- 
smith from   Minerva,  Columbiana  county,  O.     Mr.  Adams  came 
to  Washington  at  the  President's  invitation,  but  had  no  idea  of 
doing  more  than  "eating  one  meal  in  the  White  House  "  as  he 
expressed  it.    Here  is  Mr.  Adams'  own  story  of  how  he  happened 
to  be  stopping  at  the  White  House  during  the  inauguration  week  : 
"Just  before  the  inauguration  of  1897,  Mr.  McKinley  asked 
I  did  not  want  to  come  to  Washington.    Well,  I  was  pretty 
busy  fixing  up  things  on  the  farm  just  then,  so  I  said  no,  I  would 
come  to  the  next  one.    The  President  laughed  and  said  to  remind 
him  and  he  would  send  me  a  pass.     I  got  it.     When  my  friend 
Alexander  and  I  went  up  to  the  White  House  the  President  held 
out  his  hand  and  said:     'I'm  glad  to  see  you,'  and  asked  me 
about  my  health  and  my  family  and  how  everybody  was  doing 
told  him  I  had  just  come  to  town  and  got  a  room 


*    w         ~  re  to  sta^  KZ          re   n 

!  White  House,  you  and  your  friend.'  I  said  that  I  did  not 
.ike  to  impose  upon  him,  but  he  replied  that  it  was  no  imposition, 
and  that  I  must  bring  my  grip  and  stay  the  week  out  as  his 
guest,  and  he  would  see  that  I  had  a  good  time  and  do  everything 
for  me  that  he  could  do.  He  made  out  a  ticket  that  passed  us  to 
tiie  grand  stand  to  see  the  parade,  and  also  gave  us  seats  at  the 

'1  and  admission  to  the  inauguration  ball." 
A  lady  in  Ohio  has  a  souvenir  of  Mr.  McKinley  which  she 
prize;    very  highly.     It  is  a  stanza  written  by  him   when  twelve 

4'2t\ 


PERSONAL  TRAITS   OF    MR.   McKINLEY. 


427 


years  old,  conveying  to  this  lady,  who  was   then  a  schoolgirl,  a 
sentiment  which  impressed  his  mind  at  that  time.     The  following 
is  a  fac-simile  of  the  stanza,  penned,  as  the  reader  wil.  see,  i 
careful  handwriting  of  a  schoolboy  : 


In  this  little  incident  we  see  revealed  the  character  of  he 
man  Probably  if  Mr.  McKinley  in  his  last  days  had  seen  the 
"anza  he  wrcJto  his  "Friend  Lucy,"  he  would  have  smiled  at 
the  innocence  of  boyhood,  but  he  would  not  have  disapproved  of 
the  sentiment  he  then  expressed. 

COLONEL  BONNER'S  REMINISCENCES. 

Colonel  J.  C.  Bonner,  Collector  of  Cnstoms,  was  probably 


'- 


A, 


428  PERSONAL  TRAITS   OF   MR.   McKINLEY. 

was  Chairman  of  the  Lucas  County  Republican  Executive  Com- 
mittee,  and  Mr.  McKinley  was  then  Congressman  McKinley,  and 
Chairman  of  the  House  Committee  on  Ways  and  Means. 

The  tariff  bill  which  bears  Mr.  McKinley's  name  was  at  that 
time  being  prepared.  Mr.  Bonner,  in  the  manufacture  of  brushes 
was  painfully  aware  that  the  American  made  goods  were  kept  out 
of  the  American  markets  because  of  the  cheapness  with  which 
the  German  product  could  be  manufactured  and  placed  on  sale 
here.  He  determined,  if  possible,  to  effect  a  remedy. 

He  went  to  Washington,  called  at  the  office  of  Congressman 
McKinley,  which  the  latter  always  called  his  "den,"  and  without 
ceremony  or  red  tape  of  any  sort,  was  received.  At  first  sight 
Mr.  Bonner  was  much  impressed  with  him,  and,  as  afterwards 
proved,  the  liking  was  mutual.  Mr.  Bonner  stated  his  business. 
The  country  was  being  flooded  with  foreign  made  goods  ;  in  this 
instance,  toothbrushes,  which  were  sold  at  so  low  a  price  that  the 
American  made  product  could  not  well  compete. 

TWICE  ACROSS  THE  OCEAN. 

The  bones  of  which  the  handles  were  made  were  sawed  up  in 
Chicago,  then  shipped  to  Germany,  made  up  and  shipped  back 
and  sold  at  a  lower  price  than  Bonner  and  the  five  other  firms  in 
this  country  could  furnish  them  at. 

;<But  I  am  told,"  said  Mr.  McKinley,  "in  letters  from  Rreat 
houses  m  Philadelphia  and  New  York,  that  they  are  satisfied 
with  the  present  conditions,  and  that  they  do  not  think  it  neces- 
sary for  a  tariff  on  toothbrushes." 

He  named  the  firms,  and  then  Mr.  Bonner  explained  that 
these  were  great  wholesale  houses  which  bought  all  their  goods 

lazing  the  local  manufac- 


see"  said  the  Congressman,  "I  thought  there  was  some- 


here.     How 

to   protect   American   interests?"     Mr.    Bonner  'said 
per  :ent  would  do.     «  Forty  per  cent,  it  shall  be,"  said  Mr 
McKmley,     Ancl  forty  per  cent,  it  was  made  and  remained. 


PERSONAL  TRAITS   OF   MR.  McKINLEY.  429 

When  President  McKinley  first  ran  for  governor  it  was  pro- 
posed that  he  should  make  a  speech  in  Toledo  The  candidate 
had  appeared  but  once  before  in  this  city  and  then  only  at  a 
lionet'  at  which  he  had  responded  to  a  toast.  There  were 
factional  differences  in  the  Republican  camp  in  Lucas  county  at 
and  it  was  feared  that  the  meeting  would  have  the 
IppearaTceof a  frost,  but  Mr.  Bonner  and  several  others  deter- 
mined that  Mr.  McKinley  should  be  heard  there. 

Some  thought  that   a  committee  of  two  was   al 
necessary  to  go  down  to  Sandusky  and  meet  him,  and  escort  hirn^ 
But  opTnLs  differed  and  twenty  prominent  citizens  guarantee 
*aoo  in  the  way  of  tickets  and  the  Wheeling  &  Lake  Erie  road 
pTon  a  specill  train,  allowing  the  local  managers  to  put  on 
whatever  crowd  it  desired. 

A  GREAT  TURN-OUT. 

The  result  of  it  was  that  nine  carloads  of  people  were : taken 
to  Sandusky  to  greet  the  candidate  and  bring  him  to  Toledo  A 
L  ar  was  fitted  up  and  decorated  and  festooned  and  an  artillery 


• 


P..*~. 


Tu. 

station.  ^  1  ^med      So  ?reat  was  the 

^  fthttMr:  stS^tS  cS^pack  within  Memorial 
H°an  atditv^ne^y  for  the  candidate  to  speak  at  several 
places  along  the  march  to  the  hall. 


430 


PERSONAL  TRAITS   OF   MR.   McKINLEY. 


At  the  corner  of  Jefferson  and  Superior  streets  one  speech 
was  made,  and  outside  the  hall  itself  another.  The  'Father  of  the 
McKinley  Bill  »  had  set  the  town  on  fire.  There  was  no  longer 
any  doubt  as  to  how  he  would  he  received  in  Toledo.  Neither 
this  nor  subsequent  visits  were  frosts. 

When    Mr.   McKinley    was  elected  governor  he   appointed 
Mr.  Bonner  upon  his  personal  staff  in  spite  of  great   pressure 
from  great  powers  to  make  the  appointment  in  another  direction 
To  illustrate   how   strictly    President    McKinley    did  his    duty 
despite  what  effect  it  might  have  upon  him  personally,  Colonel 
Bonner  tells  of  an  incident  which  occurred  during  a  political  con- 
vention at  Columbus,  when  McKinley  was  governor,   and  when 
Mr.  Bonner  was  chairman  of  the  state  committee. 

DURING  THE  GREAT  STRIKES. 

It  was  during  the  great  mining  troubles  and  railroad  strikes 
in  the  Wheeling  Creek  district  and  the  State  was  in  an  uproar 
because  of  them.  Colonel  Bonner  was  much  about  the  govern- 
or's office,  at  the  latter's  invitation,  having  charge  of  the  conven- 
tion arrangements  and  it  being  thought  advisable  that  he  should 
be  in  touch  with  Governor  McKinley,  thus  being  an  eyewitness 
of  the  incident.  At  this  time,  it  must  be  remembered,  the  friends 
of  Governor  McKinley  were  booming  him  for  the  presidential 
nomination. 

Private  Secretary  James  Boyle  came  in  and  announced  that  a 
prominent  politician  was  without  and  desired  to  speak  to  him.  The 
governor  was  occupied  and  it  was  so  reported  to  the  gentleman. 

'  Tell  him,"  said  the  politician,  "that  it  is  a  matter  of  great 
importance."  This  was  done.  The  Wheeling  Creek  rioters  were 
at  that  time  sullen  and  growling. 

Every  means  had  been  used  to  quiet  them  without  a  show  of 
force.  The  subject  of  calling  out  the  militia  had  been  broached. 
The  prominent  politician  sent  in  this  message  to  the  governor: 

'Tell  him,"  said  the  message  brought  in  by  Mr.  Boyle  that  "in 
my  opinion  if  he  calls  out  the  State  militia  he  will  never  become 
President  of  the  United  States." 


PERSONAL  TRAITS  OF   MR.  McKINLEY. 


431 


Onick  as  a  flask,  with  the  delivery  of  this  message,  Governor 
McKtoley  turned  to  his  secretary  and  said:  'You  return  to 
this  man  and  tell  him  that  we  will  take  care  of  the  stnke  firs, 


and  the  presidency  afterward." 

Inside  of  three  hours  every  regiment   of  the   State 
except  the  First  regiment,  had  been  called  out,  and  was  en  route 
to  the  scene  of  the  trouble.     The  strike  was  settled,  not  a  life  was 
ost  in  the  settlement,  and  despite  the  warning  of  the  politician, 
Governor  McKinley  became  President  not  only  once,  but  twice. 

McKinley   was  governor,    a    daring    bank    robbery 
Mumbus  Grove.  The  robber  entered  the  bank  and  shot 


Sft   St  away  from  the  influence  of  the  men  who  would 
move  heaven  and  earth  to  save  their  friend. 

FOLLOWED  BY  TELEGRAMS. 
But  his  escae  from  Columbus  had  been  discovered  and  score 


tr,  lit:, 

excited.     A  man  law  to  take  itc 

to 


with  the  prison  ? 


432  PERSONAL  TRAITS   OF   MR.  McKINLEV. 

A  walk  down  to  a  newspaper  office  was  suggested.  Arrived 
there  the  hour  was  growing  close  to  midnight,  and  the  day  was 
close  to  Friday,  hangman's  day.  The  first  intimation  of  the 
approaching  tragedy  was  the  bulletin  to  the  effect  that  the  peni- 
tentiary warden  had  entered  the  prison  cell  and  had  read  the 
death  warrant.  Other  particulars  followed  rapidly,  but  nothing 
of  what  the  governor  was  waiting  for.  The  death  march  was 
bulletined,  the  last  clang  of  the  cell  doors,  the  heavy  respiration 
even  of  the  accused  and  convicted.  The  governor's  emotion  was 
intense. 

MADE  A  FULL  CONFESSION. 

" L,  there  nothing  from  the  man  himself?"  he  exclaimed. 
Finally  it  came,  a  full  confession,  just  before  the  last  act.  The 
governor's  face  illumined.  He  had  been  right— the  man  was 
guilty— the  man  had  admitted  it.  Again  had  duty  been  done. 

Quite  as  impressive  as  anything  else  in  the  developments  of 
the  tragedy  was  the  clear  light  in  which  they  showed  how  Presi- 
dent McKinley's  personal  charms  and  qualities  as  a  man  won  the 
affection  of  the  country.  Particularly  was  this  noticeable  in 
Washington,  where,  from  his  long  service  in  Congress  and  for 
more  than  four  years  in  the  Presidential  chair  he  became  known 
personally  as  to  no  other  part  of  the  country,  except,  perhaps,  to 
his  neighbors  in  Canton.  Dr.  David  J.  Hill,  Assistant  Secretary 
of  State,  once  remarked  to  a  friend  when  Mr.  McKinley's  person- 
ality was  under  discussion,  that  if  "  the  Lord  had  ever  breathed 
the  breath  of  life  into  a  more  gracious  and  amiable  man  than  Mr. 
McKinley,"  Dr.  Hill  had  yet  to  find  it  out.  This  was  a  thoroughly 
characteristic  estimate,  and  one  that  was  by  no  means  confined  in 
its  expression  to  occasions  of  grief. 

Mr.  McKinley,  according  to  the  best  estimates,  always  did 
the  amiable  and  courteous  thing.  If  he  ever  had  any  feeling  of 
injured  dignity  or  ill-temper,  he  never  let  it  be  discovered  even  by 
those  nearest  to  him.  Everybody  who  went  to  the  White  House 
came  away  pleasantly  impressed,  whether  he  were  Republican 
>emocrat,  Populist,  anti-Imperialist  or  Socialist;  a  negro,  a 
Chinese  or  a  Caucasian.  It  has  not  been  uncommon  with  other 


PERSONAL  TRAITS   OF   MR.   McKINLEY.  438 

Presidents  for  men  of  more  or  less  prominence  to  come  away  from 
the  White  House  saying  rather  unpleasant  things  about  the  treat- 
ment they  had  received. 

With  McKinley  it  was  different,  and  in  that  personal  equation 
doubtless  lay  a  large  share  of  his  success,  as  a  public  man  and 
party  leader,  in  securing  acceptance  of  the  policies  for  which  he 
stood.  When  before,  it  was  frequently  asked,  has  a  President 
carried  the  House  of  Representatives  in  three  Congresses  in  suc- 
session  ?  When  before  has  a  President  sustained  such  friendly 
relations  with  the  Senators  that  they  have  rejected  none  of  his 
nominations  for  office,  or  that  he,  in  turn,  has  had  to  veto  none  of 
their  bills  ?  For  this  was  substantially  the  situation. 

UNUSUAL  COURTESY. 

The  very  few  vetoes  and  rejected  nominations,  and  their 
number  was  trifling,  were  rarely  unwelcome  to  the  other  side,  but 
were  rather  in  the  nature  of  the  correction  of  errors  due  to  newly 
discovered  evidence. 

When  the  Secretary  of  the  Anti-Imperialist  League  first 
visited  Washington  the  President  came  out  of  a  Cabinet  meeting 
to  receive  him — a  most  unusual  courtesy.  Many  a  President  who 
had  been  flattered  as  McKinley  was  would  have  taken  affront  at 
some  of  the  utterances  of  the  League,  and,  standing  on  his 
dignity,  have  refused  altogether  to  see  its  representative.  One  of 
McKinley' s  predecessors  steadily  refused  to  see,  during  his  term 
of  office,  an  eminent  doctor  of  divinity  who  several  times  called  on 
public  business,  because  he  had  as  a  preacher  alluded  to  his 
alleged  Sabbath-breaking  propensities. 

President  Arthur,  with  all  that  graciousness  of  manner  which 
has  associated  itself  with  his  name,  proved  a  hard  master  for  the 
clerical  force  in  his  immediate  employ.  If  he  desired  a  letter  or 
a  paper  from  the  files  for  any  purpose,  he  could  brook  no  delay, 
and  was  seemingly  unwilling  to  grant  that  time  might  be  neces- 
sary even  for  those  who  served  a  President. 

In  fact,  those  who  know  the  White  House  best,  in  its  various 
aspects  toward  the  public,  are  able  to  relate  a  great  many  iiici- 

28 


434  PERSONAL  TRAITS   OF    MR.    Me  KIN  LEY. 

dents  showing  considerable  human  nature  on  the  part  of  the 
various  Presidents  who  have  occupied  it,  but  of  McKinley  they 
have  nothing  to  relate  but  pleasant  things,  kindly  acts,  and 
genial  ways.  He  seemed  never  offended  at  those  who  most 
severely  criticised  him.  We  read  in  the  newspapers  that  Senator 
Tillman  declared  that  McKinley  was  gradually  becoming  a  dicta- 
tor, to  the  subversion  of  the  old  Republic  ;  the  next  day  we  read 
that  Mr.  Tillman  went  to  the  White  House  to  ask  for  a  small 
consulship  for  one  of  his  constituents,  and,  strange  to  relate,  that, 
although  an  opposition  Democrat,  he  readily  obtained  it. 

A  PERFECT  GENTLEMAN. 

In  fact,  Tillman  said  in  a  public  way  that  in  his  opinion  no 
finer  gentleman  from  George  Washington's  time  to  the  present 
had  ever  occupied  the  Presidential  chair.  He  never  went  to  the 
White  House  in  the  latter  part  of  Mr.  Cleveland's  administration, 
just  as  there  were  many  Republicans  of  prominence  that  were 
not  very  neighborly  with  Mr.  Harrison,  and  others,  to  be  sure, 
who  did  not  like  Mr.  Arthur. 

It  has  long  become  notable  to  outside  observers,  who  have 
talked  with  public  men,  who  have  come  away  from  a  conference 
with  the  Chief  Executive,  how  generally  he  made  their  wishes  his 
own.  In  the  organization  of  the  first  Philippine  Commission, 
one  of  the  men  provisionally  selected  hastened  to  Washington 
to  tell  Mr.  McKinley  that  he  was  not  much  of  a  believer  in  his 
expansion  policy,  and  that,  probably  knowing  this,  Mr.  MrKinley 
would  want  somebody  else  to  serve. 

"  Quite  the  contrary,"  was  the  President's  answer.  "  We 
need  just  the  element  of  opinion  on  the  Commission  which  you 
represent.  I  am  glad  that  you  feel  as  you  do  about  it."  Another 
man  whom  McKinley  was  about  to  appoint  to  a  high  office 
expressed  in  the  same  way  his  skepticism  on  the  subject  of  pro- 
tection, as  identified  with  Mr.  McKinley' s  name.  In  the  same 
spirit,  Mr.  McKinley  assured  him  that  the  view  of  the  case  which 
he  held  was  the  very  one  which  the  President  was  eager  to  have 
represented. 


PERSONAL  TRAITS  OF   MR.   McKINLEY.  136 

Mr.  McKinley  was  so  able  to  see  both  sides  of  questions,  to 
recognize  personal  and  local  limitations,  that  his  relation  with 
the  world  and  with  the  American  public  was  wonderfully  pleasant. 
It  will  be  recalled  how  enthusiastic  the  Democratic  South  became 
when,  on  his  visit  to  that  section,  he  allowed  a  Confederate  badge, 
pinned  playfully  on  the  lapel  of  his  coat,  to  remain  there  all  day, 
and  how  he  recommended  that  the  Federal  Government  join  with 
the  Southern  States  in  the  care  of  the  cemeteries  in  which  were 
buried  the  Confederate  dead.  Wherever  he  went,  North,  East, 
West  or  South,  he  fell  in  so  acceptably  with  the  prevailing  views 
and  aspirations  of  the  people  as  to  win  their  most  marked  favor. 
By  his  diplomatic  way,  he  led  a  great  many  persons  to  his 
manner  of  thinking,  when  they  did  not  realize  that  they  were 
being  led. 

Among  the  facts  belonging  to  President  McKiuley's  career 
must  be  placed  the  heroic  struggle  of  medical  skill  and  science 
to  prevent  that  career  from  being  ended  so  suddenly.  The  story  of 
what  went  on  in  the  sick  room  reads  more  like  fiction  than  reality. 

THE  DOCTORS  ENDORSED. 

"The  Medical  News,"  in  its  issue  of  September  21,  printed  a 
review  of  President  McKinley' s  case  from  a  medical  point  of  view. 
The  article  recited  the  circumstances  of  the  shooting  and  reprinted 
the  official  report  of  the  autopsy  and  certain  unofficial  statements 
credited  by  the  press  to  the  doctors  in  attendance.  It  then  takes 
up  the  subject  of  the  gangrenous  condition  of  the  wound  and  in 
this  connection  says  : 

"Gangrene,  extensive  as  it  was,  seems  to  us  not  so  different 
from  others  observed  under  analogous  circumstances  as  to  require 
the  assumption  of  exceptional  causes  for  it^>  explanation.  Necrosis 
of  tissue  of  a  thinner  cr  thicker  cylinder  along  the  track  of  a 
bullet  is  thought  to  be  the  ru  ^,.  and  ordinarily  it  is  easily  taken 
care  of  by  liquefaction  and  absorption.  And  necrosis,  even  of  a 
considerable  extent,  in  feeble  patients,  about  a  sutured  wound  is 
certainly  not  unknown,  even  if  rare,  and  is  explained  by  inter- 


436  PERSONAL  TRAITS  OF   MR.    McKINLEY. 

ference  with  the  local  circulation  either  by  tension  or  by  the 
spread  of  coagulation  within  the  blood  vessels. 

"  The  spread  of  the  process  in  a  patient  of  low  reparative 
power  would  not  be  so  very  exceptional  or  surprising.  Was  the 
President  such  a  patient  ?  Apparently  he  was.  According  to 
Dr.  Wasdin,  when  the  incision  was  reopened  toward  the  end  of 
the  fifth  day  '  no  effort '  was  required  to  open  it  throughout  its 
entire  length,  although  only  the  track  of  the  bullet  was  affected. 
That  expression  would  hardly  have  been  used  unless  he  had 
intended  to  indicate  that  the  amount  of  repair  usual  after  that 
lapse  of  time  had  not  taken  place.  Then,  the  President  was  fifty- 
eight  years  of  age,  had  led  a  sedentary,  laborious  and  anxious 
life,  and  had  a  complexion  and  appearance  which,  for  some  years, 
had  been  commented  upon  as  indicative  of  impaired  vitality. 

ACTED  WITH  PROMPTNESS. 

"  It  is  evident  that  the  surgeons,  notably  Doctors  Mann  and 
Mynter,  with  whom  the  first  decision  lay,  acted  with  commend- 
able promptitude  and  courage  in  undertaking  the  operation,  and 
showed  excellent  judgment  in  its  course  and  skill  in  its  execution. 

"They  did  all  that  could  properly  have  been  done  and 
nothing  that  should  have  been  left  undone.  The  usual  causes 
of  death  after  such  inj  ury  and  operation  were  escaped  or  removed 
or  prevented,  and  their  patient  succumbed  to  a  complication  which 
is  so  rare  that  it  could  not  reasonably  have  been  anticipated,  and 
could  not  have  been  averted. 

u  The  President  died  because  he  could  not  carry  on  the 
processes  of  repair  and  because  the  effort  to  do  so  was  more  than 
the  vitality  of  the  tissues  involved  could  support.  This,  of  course, 
excluded  the  possible  presence  of  poison  brought  by  the  bullet  or 
of  destructive  action  by  the  pancreatic  juices.  If  either  of  those 
was  a  factor,  it  needs  only  to  substitute  it  in  the  statement  for  the 
assumed  defective  vitality  of  the  patient.  Whatever  cause  acted, 
it  was  unrecognizable  at  the  operation  and  uncontrolable  then  or 
subsequently. 

"  There  has  been  some  criticism  of  the  confident  assurance  of 


PERSONAL  TRAITS   OF    MR.   McKINLEY.  437 

recovery  made  by  those  in  attendance  after  the  fifth  day.  To  us 
the  progress  of  the  case  up  to  that  time  appears  fully  to  have 
justified  those  assurances  and  the  public  anxiety  to  have  required 
them." 

The  review  of  the  case  closes  with  the  following  reference 
the   doctors:  "  They  did  their  work  skillfully  and  judiciously, 
their  behavior  was  dignified,  restrained  and  worthy  of  the  bes 
traditions  of  the  profession,  and  they  have  the  misfortune,  whei 
success  seemed  to  have  been  secured,  of  seeing  it  overthrown  by  a 
complication  which    could  not  have   been    foreseen   or   avo:    id. 
They  deserve  our  admiration  and  sympathy,  not  our  criticism. 


CHAPTER  XXIII. 

Origin  and  Rise  of  Anarchism — Its  Theory  and  Practice— 
—Aims  to  Overthrow  All  Lawful  Government — Assas- 
sinations From  Alexander  II.  to  President  McKinley. 

THE  civilized  world  looked  on  aghast  when  the  apostles  of  dis- 
order, the  believers  in  the  " rights  of  the  people"  as  they 
phrased  it,  seized  Paris  in  the  name  of  the  Commune  on  March 
17,  1871,  and  held  it  until  the  rightful  government  of  the  republic 
regained  control  of  the  capital  on  May  27.  The  frightful 
excesses  of  these  two  months  have  never  been  surpassed  in  the 
annals  of  war,  and  without  knowing  it  the  civilized  world  was 
beholding  a  demonstration  of  what  government  and  social  exist- 
ence would  be  like  under  the  supremacy  of  a  set  of  revolutionists, 
known  later  as  "  anarchists,"  but  who  then  had  no  such  conve- 
nient sobriquet  to  designate  themselves  or  their  beliefs. 

Neither  Communism  nor  Anarchism  originated  during  the 
Commune.  On  the  contrary,  the  general  idea  which  took  a  most 
violent  shape  in  the  Slav  and  Latin  countries  in  the  80' s  grew 
out  of  the  revolutions  of  1848.  Proudhon  in  France  and  Karl 
Marx  in  Germany,  and,  above  all,  Michael  Bakunin,  a  Russian, 
all  ardent  social  reformers,  were  the  real  creators  of  the  interna- 
tional movement. 

Bakunin  was  born  in  Russia,  1814,  and  died  in  Berne,  in 
1876.  He  took  part  in  the  German  revolutionary  movements  of 
1848,  and  was  the  founder  of  Nihilism  in  his  own  country.  He 
was  exiled  to  Siberia  in  1851,  but  escaped  to  Japan,  got  back  to 
England  by  1861,  and  in  1865  he  was  one  of  the  organizers  of 
the  "  International  Association  of  Workingmen,"  a  pet  project  of 
Karl  Marx. 

Bakunin,  Marx  and  all  other  reformers  of  all  grades,  from 
philosophic  idealists  to  downright  cut-throats,  carried  on  the  propa- 
ganda of  the  International  Association  until  1872,  when  there 

was  a  split,  and  at  the  Hague  conference  the  Socialists  proper, 
438 


ORIGIN   AND   RISE  OF  ANARCHISM.  439 

wlio  believed  in  orderly  reform  and  governmental  methods,  drew 
apart  from  the  extremists,  who  met  in  what  was  really  the  first 
Anarchist  congress  in  the  world,  held  the  same  year  at  Saint- 
Irnier,  Switzerland. 

By  this  time,  1872,  the  extremists  were  well  organized  in 
most  of  the  leading  States  of  Europe,  particularly  in  Russia,  and 
the  Latin  countries.  In  Itaty,  Counts  Caffiero  and  Malatesta 
were  followers  of  Bakunin  and  leaders  in  the  movement.  They 
had  a  large  following,  and  the  name  by  which  they  were  known 
was  Internationalists,  and  they  constituted  the  "  Federazione 
Internazionale  dei  Lavoratori "  (International  Federation  of 
Workers),  with  the  motto,  "  Atheism,  Anarchy  and  Collectivism," 
which  was  the  Italian  branch  of  Karl  Marx's  London  organiza- 
tion, but  which  from  the  first,  owing  to  the  disturbed  state  of 
things,  politically  and  economically,  in  Italy,  had  taken  a  more 
radical  turn.  Marx  might  believe  in  a  constructive,  peaceful 
revolution  of  society. 

FLOURISHED  IN  ITALY. 

Not  so  the  Italians,  who  were  anarchistic  at  the  start.  Con- 
sequently from  1872  to  1880  the  anarchist  movement  flourished 
in  Italy,  while  in  other  and  freer  countries  it  languished,  save  in 
Spain,  and  the  Italians  were  at  the  head  of  every  workers'  associa- 
tion for  economic  purposes.  In  1876  they  took  possession  of 
thftown  of  Benevento.  Amongst  the  revolutionists  there  were 
Camero,  the  Russian  revolutionist  and  writer,  Stepniak,  and 
others  ;  but  the  movement  was  immediately  suppressed  by  the 
government,  which  realized  for  the  first  time  that  Italy  as  well 
as  Europe  was  confronted  by  a  new  and  very  dangerous  social 
movement. 

This  early  propaganda  of  anarchism  was  largely  due,  it  must 
be  said,  to  the  missionary  work  of  those  who  took  part  in  the 
so-called  Social  Democratic  Alliance,  which  Bakunin  founded  at 
Geneva,  Switzerland,  in  1868.  The  Alliance,  like  the  Inter- 
national Association,  was  divided  into  a  central  committee  and 
national  bureaus.  But  together  with  this  division  went  a  secret 


440  ORIGIN  AND   RISE  OF  ANARCHISM. 

organization.  Bakunin,  the  pronounced  enemy  of  all  organiza- 
tions in  theory,  created  in  practice  a  secret  society  quite  according 
to  the  rules  of  Carbonarism,  a  hierarchy  which  was  in  total  con- 
tradiction to  the  anti-authority  tendencies  of  the  society. 

According  to  the  secret  statutes  of  the  "Alliance"  three 
grades  were  recognized:  (i)  "The  International  Brethren,"  100 
in  number,  who  formed  a  kind  of  sacred  college,  and  were  to  play 
the  leading  parts  in  the  soon  expected,  immediate  social  revolution, 
with  Bakunin  at  their  head;  (2)  "The  National  Brethren,"  who 
were  organized  by  the  International  Brethren  into  a  national 
association  in  every  country,  but  who  were  allowed  to  suspect 
nothing  of  the  international  organization  ;  (3)  lastly  came  the 
Secret  International  Alliance,  the  pendant  of  the  public  alliance, 
operating  through  the  permanent  central  committee. 

BECAME  MORE  VIOLENT. 

The  Alliance  as  an  open  organization  did  not  last  long,  as 
it  was  amalgamated  with  the  "International"  in  1869,  the 
extremists  and  conservatives  all  working  together  until  their 
final  separation  in  1872.  During  the  latter  part  of  the  70' s  the 
extremists  in  all  parts  of  Europe— Latins,  Slavs,  Teutons— became 
more  and  more  violent,  and  it  was  about  this  time  that  the 
Governments  of  Europe  began  to  look  into  the  question  of 
anarchism,  though  it  had  not  yet  revealed  itself  in  all  its  true 
colors,  for  though  Bakunin  was  an  extremist  he  had  not  himself 
invented  the  propaganda  "by  the  deed,"  which  latei  on  led  to  the 
series  of  attacks  on  the  rulers  of  Europe,  which  respected  no  one 
were  he  autocrat  or  a  parliamentary  sovereign. 

This  idea  of  violence  grew  slowly  as  compared  with  the 
purely  political  idea  that  anarchists  should  in  no  way  encourage 
any  orderly  form  of  government  even  if  they  were  in  power.  For 
instance,  the  Congress  of  Berne,  which  followed  Bakunin' s  death 
in  1876,  under  the  leadership  of  Elisee  Reclus,  officially  blamed 
the  Paris  Commune  of  1871  for  constituting  itself  into  an  organ- 
ized government.  As  irresponsible  as  the  Commune  had  been,  it 
had  not  been  irresponsible  enough  for  men  like  Reclus. 


ORIGIN   AND   RISE  OF  ANARCHISM.  441 

Moreover,  it  was  at  the  Berne  convention  that  Count  Mala- 
testa,  one  of  the  evil  geniuses  of  anarchy,  who  represented  the 
Italian  extremists,  who  at  that  time  were  one  of  the  most  powerful 
groups  in  Europe,  took  the  step  that  has  made  anarchism  the 
"red  terror"  ever  since;  for,  in  the  name  of  the  Italian  Federation, 
he  declared  the  necessity  of  joining  the  "insurrectional  act"  to 
the  other  means  of  propaganda. 

In  1878  the  congress  of  Fribourg  (in  Switzerland)  definite^ 
adopted  the  propositions  of  Reclus  explaining  why  its  members 
were  revolutionists,  anarchists  and  collectivists;  and  it  pronounced 
unanimously  for  the  "collective  appropriation  of  social  riches,  the 
abolition  of  the  State  under  all  its  forms,  for  insurrectional  and 
revolutionary  action,  and  against  the  use  of  the  ballot  as  a  mis- 
chievous instrument  incapable  of  realizing  the  sovereignty  of  the 

people." 

BREEDING  REVOLUTION. 

The  propaganda  of  revolution  was  carried  on  throughout 
Europe  with  great  vigor.  In  Russia  it  became  allied  with  Nihil- 
ism, and  everywhere  it  spread  hatred  of  government  and  all 
political  and  economic  authority.  In  Italy,  France  and  Spain 
the  movement  was  particularly  vigorous,  and  Spain  from  the  'yo's 
had  a  strong  influence  in  determining  the  orientation  of  the  move- 
ment. But  it  was  not  until  1881  that  the  Spanish  Federation  for  the 
first  time  positively  shut  out  all  the  weak-kneed  brethren  who  still 
clung  to  Socialist  organizations  and  had  not  yet  utterly  broken 
with  all  organized  society. 

The  propaganda  of  irresponsible  individualism,  of  violence 
and  of  unreasoning  hatred  for  any  one  in  executive  place,  were  he 
a  devil  or  an  angel,  was  openly  advocated  at  the  Anarchist  con- 
gress held  at  Barcelona  in  1881.  This  Barcelona  congress  was 
the  first  exclusively  Anarchist  congress,  since  there — for  the  first 
time — was  no  qiiestion  of  fraternizing  even  with  those  extreme 
revolutionary  Socialists  that  still  admitted  some  principle  of  State 
authority. 

Whatever  the  Spanish  Anarchists  might  have  accomplished 
internationally,  and  there  is  no  doubting  their  evil  intentions,  by 


442  ORIGIN   AND   RISE  OF   ANARCHISM. 

the  irony  of  fate  it  was  in  peaceful  London  that  the  definite  organ- 
ization to  carry  out  the  philosophy  of  violence  was  put  into  effect. 
Ever  since  the  early  '6o's  London  had  been  the  rendezvous  of  all 
European  revolutionists  and  agitators.  Marx,  Bakunin,  Stepniak, 
Aveling,  Kropotkin  had  made  it  their  headquarters,  and  now,  at 
a  critical  moment  in  the  history  of  anarchism  an  extremist  came 
on  the  scene  who  believed  in  putting  into  effect  all  the  dreams  of 
Reclus,  Proudhon,  Kropotkin  and  others,  after  the  revolutionary 
ideas  of  Bakunin. 

This  man  was  Herr  Johann  Most,  who  had  been  expelled 
from  Berlin  in  1879,  after  Germany  had  begun  to  legislate  against 
the  Social-Democrats  and  all  their  ilk.  Most  soon  took  hold  of 
the  extremists  of  all  nations  then  gathered  in  London  and  formed 
a  secret  "  Propagandist  Club,"  to  carry  on  an  international 
revolutionary  agitation,  and  to  prepare  directly  for  the  general 
revolution  which  Most  thought  was  near  at  hand.  For  this  pur- 
pose a  committee  was  to  be  formed  in  every  country  in  order  to 
form  groups  after  the  Nihilist  pattern,  and  at  the  proper  time  to 
take  the  lead  of  the  movement. 

HUE  AND  CRY  FOR  "  FREEDOM." 

The  activity  of  all  these  national  organizations  was  to  be 
united  in  the  Central  Committee  in  London,  which  was  an  inter- 
national body.  The  organ  of  the  organization  was  to  be  the 
"  Freedom."  The  following  of  this  new  movement  grew  rapidly 
in  every  country,  and  already  in  1881  a  great  demonstration  of 
Most's  ideas  took  place  at  the  memorable  International  Revolu- 
tionary Congress  in  London,  the  holding  of  which  was  mainly 
due  to  the  initiative  of  Most  and  the  well-known  Nihilist, 
Hartmann. 

Already  in  April,  1881,  a  preliminary  congress  had  been  held 
in  Paris,  at  which  the  procedure  of  the  "Parliamentary  Socialists" 
had  been  rejected,  since  only  a  social  revolution  was  regarded  as 
a  remedy  ;  in  the  struggle  against  present  day  society  all  and 
any  means  were  looked  upon  as  right  and  justifiable  ;  and  in  view 
of  this,  the  distribution  of  leaflets,  the  sending  of  emissaries,  and 


ORIGIN   AND    RISE  OF   ANARCHISM.  443 

the  use  of  explosives  were  recommended.  A  German  living  in 
London  had  proposed  an  amendment  involving  the  forcible 
removal  of  all  potentates  after  the  manner  of  the  assassination  of 
the  Russian  Czar,  but  this  was  rejected  as  "at  present  not  yet 
suitable." 

The  congress  following  this  preliminary  one  took  place 
in  London,  011  July  14  to  19,  1881,  and  was  attended  by  about 
forty  delegates,  the  representatives  of  several  hundred  groups. 
It  announced  its  principles  as  follows  : 

ANNIHILATION  OF  RULERS. 

"  The  revolutionaries  of  all  countries  are  uniting  into  an 
'  International  Social  Revolutionary  Working  Men's  Association,3 
for  the  purpose  of  a  social  revolution.  The  headquarters  of  the  asso- 
ciation is  at  London,  and  sub-committees  are  formed  in  Paris, 
Geneva  and  New  York.  In  every  place  where  like  minded  sup- 
porters exist,  sections  and  an  executive  committee  of  three 
persons  are  to  be  formed.  The  committees  of  a  country  are  to 
keep  up  with  one  another,  and,  with  the  central  committee, 
regular  communication  by  means  of  continual  reports  and 
information,  and  have  to  collect  money  for  the  purchase  of  poison 
and  weapons,  as  well  as  to  find  places  suitable  for  laying  mines, 
and  so  on.  To  attain  the  proposed  end,  the  annihilation  of  all 
rulers,  ministers  of  State,  nobility,  the  clergy,  the  most  promi- 
nent capitalists,  and  other  exploiters,  any  means  are  permissible, 
and,  therefore,  great  attention  should  be  given  specially  to  the 
study  of  chemistry  and  the  preparation  of  explosives,  as  being 
the  most  important  weapons.  Together  with  the  chief  committee 
in  London,  there  will  also  be  established  an  executive  committee 
of  international  composition  and  an  information  bureau,  whose 
duty  is  to  carry  out  the  decisions  of  the  chief  committee  and  to 
conduct  correspondence." 

This  congress  and  the  decisions  passed  thereat  had  very  far- 
reaching  and  fateful  consequences  for  the  development  of  the 
anarchism  of  action.  The  executive  committee  set  to  work  at 
once,  aud  sought  to  carry  out  every  point  of  the  proposed  pro- 


444  ORIGIN   AND    RISE   OF  ANARCHISM. 

gram,  but  especially  to  utilize  for  purposes  of  demonstration  and 
for  feverish  agitation  every  revolutionary  movement  of  whatever 
origin  or  tendency  it  might  be,  whether  proceeding  from  Russian 
Nihilism  or  Irish  Fenianism.  Kow  successful  their  activity  was, 
was  proved  only  too  well  by  now  unceasing  outrages  in  every 
country. 

Most  and  Kropotkin  were  now  apparently  agreed  that  the 
time  had  come  for  adding  what  is  known  as  the  "  propaganda  of 
the  deed"  to  words  and  writing.  In  fact  Kropotkin,  although 
to-day  he  poses  as  a  philosophic  Anarchist,  had  already,  in  1879 
advocated  the  doctrine  of  action  in  France,  and  it  was  after  his 
incendiary  discourses  at  the  London  congress  that  he  was 
expelled  from  Switzerland.  Four  years  previously  he  had 
migrated  from  Russian  nihilism  to  international  anarchy  and 
begun  the  publication  of  its  first  organ  in  company  with  Paul 
Brousse,  another  disciple  of  Baktmin,  and  now,  strange  to  say, 
the  mildest  of  Socialists.  It  was  Prince  Kropotkin  who  shortly 
afterward  induced  the  members  of  the  party  to  drop  the  word 
Collectivist." 

TWO  GROUPS. 

At  a  congress  in  Paris,  also  in  the  same  year,  the  Anarchists 

were   quite    excluded  from    the    company   of  the    International 

socialists,  and   from    this    time   on    the  Anarchist  and  Socialist 

groups  may  be  said  to  have  become  wholly  distinct,  while  the 

Anarchists,  themselves  split  up  into  two  sections,  the  one  led  by 

men  like  Professor  Reclus  in  France  and  Prince  Kropotkin,  both 

said  to  be  the  wildest  mannered  of  men  who  ever  associated  with 

bomb-throwers,  and  the  other  section  led  by  men  like  Herr  Most 

and  Count  Malatesta,  Bakunin's  great  disciple,  who  believed  in 

violence,  and  still  believes  in  it,  as  was  shown  in  an  interview 

ter  the  assassination  of  Humbert  on  July  37,  1900.     Kropotkin 

times,  however,  has  urged  insurrectionary  movements,  and  his 

hands  are  not  so  free  of  blood  as  he  claims. 

It  was  but  natural  that  after  all  these  years  of  revolutionary 

movements,  actual    and  philosophical,  that   the  era   of  violence 

soon  set  in  and  it  came  in  Italy,   Spain,    Germany  and 


ORIGIN   AND   RISE  OF  ANARCHISM.  445 

Russia,  in  which  countries,  during  the  latter  part  of  the  70*8 
several  attempts  to  assassinate  those  in  power  were  made,  the 
effort  in  Russia  culminating  in  the  killing  of  the  Czar  Alex- 
ander II.,  iii  St.  Petersburg,  on  March  13,  1881. 

From  this  time  on  the  European  governments  realized  that 
they  were  dealing  with  a  formidable  enemy  of  modern  society 
and  most  of  the  stricter  monarchical  governments  made  ever}' 
effort  to  stamp  the  organization  out.  The  Anarchists,  revolution- 
ary and  philosophical,  however,  found  an  asylum  in  Switzerland 
and  in  Great  Britain  and  in  the  United  States  and  the  plotting  of 
the  various  groups  went  on  without  much  interruption  save  in 
Russia,  where  the  police  ruled  with  an  iron  hand. 

INFAMOUS  PLOTS. 

In  the  early  80' s  the  United  States  had  been  the  rendezvous 
for  a  large  number  of  German  and  Slavic,  Russian,  Poles  and 
Swiss  refugees  driven  out  of  Europe  by  the  repressive  measures 
following  hard  upon  the  assassination  of  the  Czar.  These  revo- 
lutionists settled  down  in  New  York  and  Chicago  chiefly  where 
they  formed  two  large  groups,  devoted  to  plotting  against  the 
Government  and  any  of  its  agents,  and  encouraging  discontent. 
One  of  the  most  conspicuous  of  these  agitators  was  Most,  who 
came  over  in  1883,  having  found  London  too  hot  for  him.  He 
kept  up  a  red-hot  agitation  and  was  fond  of  saying  that  the  time 
had  come  for  bullets  and  not  for  ballots. 

In  Chicago  the  group  grew  very  bold  and  when  an  effort  was 
made  to  break  up  one  of  their  meetings  held  in  Haymarket 
Square,  on  May  4,  1886,  at  which  they  were  proclaiming 
revolutionary  doctrines,  a  bomb  was  thrown  and  seven  policemen 
were  killed,  and  a  large  number  injured.  Seven  of  the  ring- 
leaders were  arrested,  tried  and  convicted  and  four  were  executed 
on  November  n,  1887,  two  others  being  imprisoned  for  life,  and 
the  third  sentenced  to  fifteen  years  in  the  penitentiary.  This 
outbreak  made  a  profound  impression  on  the  public  mind  and  by 
reason  of  the  summary  execution  and  the  general  hostility  the 
open  avowal  of  anarchy  was  for  the  moment  suppressed. 


446  ORIGIN   AND    RISE   OF   ANARCHISM. 

But  neither  in  this  country  nor  in  Kurope  was  there  any 
real  cessation  in  the  movement  and  the  revival  of  anarchistic 
attacks  in  France,  culminating  in  the  death  of  Carnot  in  1894, 
had  been  a  marked  feature  of  the  latter  part  of  1893,  when  Paris 
was  in  a  regular  panic,  owing  to  a  number  of  bomb  throwings, 
which  French  outbreaks  had  been  the  natural  consequence  of  the 
upheaval  in  Spain,  which  had  resulted  in  the  Barcelona  horror, 
when,  on  November  8,  1893,  thirty  people  were  killed  and  eighty 
injured  by  a  bomb  thrown  by  the  Anarchists  in  the  Lyceum. 
Theater.  This  Barcelona  attack  had  been  preceded  by  an  effort 
to  kill  General  Campos  on  September  24,  1893,  by  a  bomb,  while 
in  Chicago  a  half-crazed  man  assassinated  Mayor  Carter  H.  Har- 
rison on  October  28th. 

PARDON  FOR  ANARCHISTS. 

A  maudlin  sentiment  had,  however,  developed  in  this  country 
on  the  subject  of  anarchism,  and  this  was  taken  advantage  of  by 
Governor  Altgeld,  of  Illinois,  who,  on  Jnne  26,  1893,  pardoned 
the  three  anarchists,  Fielden,  Schwab  and  Neebe,  who  were  still 
serving  out  their  terms  for  their  complicity  in  the  Haymarket 
murder  of  1886.  This  action  of  the  Governor  of  Illnois  and  the 
demagoguery  of  Populist  orators  so  encouraged  anarchy  in  this 
country  that  a  convention  of  avowed  anarchists  was  held  during 
the  World's  Fair. 

Aftei  the  outbreaks  of  1893,  and  the  murder  of  Carnot,  on 
Jnne  24,  1894,  there  was  a  lull  in  anarchist  activity  until  Senor 
Cauovas  del  Castillo,  the  Premier  of  Spain,  was  assassinated  by 
Golli,  an  Italian  anarchist,  on  August  8,  1897.  This  was  fol- 
lowed a  year  later  by  the  brutal,  wanton  murder  of  the  Bmpress 
Elizabeth,  by  Luccheni,  also  an  Italian ;  and  this,  after  a  two 
years'  interval,  by  the  murder  of  King  Humbert,  at  Mouza, 
Italy,  by  Angelo  Bresci,  an  Italian,  who  had  lived  at  Paterson, 
N.  J.,  where  the  plot  to  kill  the  king  was  hatched. 

Although  up  to  this  time  in  most  American  communities  the 
anarchists  had  been  German  or  Slavic,  the  Italian  groups  were 
fast  taking  the  lead  in  agitation,  and  the  action  of  Bresci  was  the 


ORIGIN    AND    RISE  OF   ANARCHISM.  447 

natural  outgrowth  of  the  undisturbed  existence  of  these  groups 
in  and  about  New  York. 

The  assassination  of  King  Humbert  warned  all  governments 
that  the  time  had  come  to  combine  against  the  anarchists,  but  a 
year  had  not  gone  by  before  an  Italian  boy,  named  Sipido,  tried 
to  kill  the  then  Prince  of  Wales  while  he  was  entering  a  railway 
car  in  Brussels,  and  the  craze  seemed  to  be  unabated,  the  situ- 
ation thus  developed  at  the  beginning  of  the  twentieth  century 
forming  a  problem  which  Europe  has  tried  to  deal  with  collec- 
tively, but  in  vain,  as  all  plans  at  concerted  action  have  come  to 
naught,  though  the  view  is  gaining  in  Great  Britain,  as  well  as 
in  the  rest  of  Europe  and  in  the  United  States,  that  something 
must  be  done  to  scotch  those  who  boldly  proclaim  themselves, 
whether  as  dreamy  philosophers  or  actual  plotters,  the  enemies 
of  all  human  society. 

FIRST  MARTYRED  PRESIDENT. 

The  first  time  that  the  American  people  were  called  upon  to 
mourn  for  an  assassinated  President  was  when  Abraham  Lincoln 
fell  by  a  shot  from  John  Wilkes  Booth's  pistol,  in  Ford's  Theatre, 
at  Washington,  on  the  night  of  April  14,  1865.  Mr-  Lincoln  had 
attended  a  Cabinet  meeting  on  that  day,  and  in  the  evening, 
accompanied  by  Mrs.  Lincoln,  Miss  Harris,  of  Albany,  and  her 
half-brother,  Major  Henry  R.  Rathbone,  had  gone  to  the  theatre 
to  witness  the  performance  of  "Our  American  Cousin." 

While  the  play  was  in  progress  a  shot  was  heard,  and  a 
man  was  seen  to  jump  from  the  President's  box  on  to  the  stage, 
brandishing  a  pistol.  Those  who  sat  near  the  stage  heard  him 
shout  in  a  theatrical  manner,  "Sic  semper  tyrannis — the  South 
is  avenged  ! "  He  rushed  to  the  rear  of  the  building,  mounted  a 
horse,  which  had  been  kept  in  waiting  for  him,  and  dashed  away. 
The  President  was  carried  to  a  house  opposite  the  theatie,  where 
he  passed  away,  surrounded  by  his  family,  on  the  morning  of 
April  1 5th. 

On  the  same  night  that  he  was  shot  by  John  Wilkes  Booth, 
an  assassin  entered  the  room  of  William  H.  Seward,  who  lay  ill 


448  ORIGIN   AND   RISE  OF  ANARCHISM. 

abed,  and  stabbed  him  and  wounded  Secretary  Se ward's  son,  who 
attempted  to  stay  his  hand.  The  murder  of  Vice-President 
Johnson,  Secretary  Stanton  and  General  Grant  was  contemplated 
by  the  conspirators,  who  succeeded  only  in  assassinating  the 
President. 

The  assassin  was  tracked  by  a  squadron  of  cavalrymen,  and 
twelve  days  after  the  assassination  he  was  found  in  a  barn,  where 
he  had  secreted  himself,  and  from  which  he  was  taken  after 
having  been  mortally  wounded.  The  people  in  the  Northern 
States  at  that  time  were  rejoicing  over  the  termination  of  hostili- 
ties with  the  South,  peace  seemed  to  be  near  at  hand,  families 
looked  for  the  return  of  the  men  who  had  gone  to  the  field  in  the 
service  of  their  country,  and  every  city,  village  and  hamlet  was 
decorated  with  flags  and  bunting. 

FLAGS  IN  MOURNING. 

There  were  no  orders  issued  to  that  effect,  but  by  common 
consent  edges  of  mourning  were  sewn  around  the  flags,  the 
streamers  were  covered  with  crepe,  and  within  a  few  hours  after 
the  news  of  Lincoln's  assassination  had  come  nearly  every  house 
in  the  loyal  States  was  draped  in  mourning.  The  body  of  the 
assassinated  Piesident  was  taken  to  the  Capitol  on  April  2oth, 
and  a  great  concourse  oi  people  viewed  it  before  the  funeral  train 
started  for  Springfield.  In  every  principal  city  along  the  line  the 
train  halted,  and  at  Baltimore,  Harrisburg,  Philadelphia,  New 
York,  Albany,  Buffalo,  Cleveland  and  Chicago  catafalques  were 
erected,  and  weeping  multitudes  looked  upon  the  face  of  the  dead 
emancipator. 

The  conspirators  who  were  responsible  for  the  assassination 
were  tried  by  court  martial  at  Washington,  and  four,  namely, 
Payne,  Harold,  Azerodt  and  Mrs.  Surratt,  were  hanged  ;  the  stage 
carpenter  at  Ford's  theatre  who  turned  out  the  lights  to  facilitate 
the  escape  of  Booth,  the  man  who  held  his  horse  at  the  stage 
entrance,  and  Dr.  Mudd,  who  set  the  limb  which  Booth  broke  in 
jumping  from  the  box,  were  sent  to  prison  for  long  terms. 

Andrew  Johnson,  the  Vice-President,  was  sworn  in  as  Presi- 


ORIGIN    AND    RISE  OF   ANARCHISM.  449 

dent  of  the  United  States  on  the  morning  of  April  15,  a  few  min- 
utes after  the  President  had  passed  away.  The  death  of  Abraham 
Lincoln  wiped  out  party  feeling  in  the  Northern  States  to  a  great 
extent,  and  among  the  eulogies  that  were  delivered  some  of  the 
best  were  spoken  by  members  of  the  Democratic  party,  who  for 
years  had  opposed  Mr.  Lincoln  and  his  policy. 

The  only  other  occasion  when  the  American  people  were  called 
upon  to  mourn  for  an  assassinated  President  was  when  General 
Garfield  passed  away  in  consequence  of  the  wounds  inflicted  on 
him  by  a  crazy  assassin. 

The  President  was  leaving  Washington,  on  July  2,  1881,  on 
a  trip  through  New  England,  having  nothing  specially  in  view 
beyond  the  commencement  exercises  of  Williams  College, 
William stown.  He  had  had  a  season  of  more  than  ordinarily  hard 
work  and  much  vexation  over  a  fight  in  the  Republican  party  of 
the  State  of  New  York,  which  had  originated  through  his  appoint- 
ment of  a  Collector  for  the  Port  of  New  York.  At  a  Cabinet 
meeting  held  July  i,  the  day  before  his  departure  from  Washing- 
ton, he  told  some  of  the  members  of  the  Cabinet  that  he  looked 
forward  with  great  pleasure  to  his  corning  vacation,  that  he  needed 
rest,  was  going  to  take  it,  and  not  allow  affairs  of  State  to  bother 

him. 

GARFIELD  ASSASSINATED. 

As  he  was  passing  through  the  waiting  room  of  the  Baltimore 
and  Potomac  Railroad  station,  the  next  morning,  leaning  on  the 
arm  of  Mr.  Elaine,  an  assassin  approached  him  and  fired  point 
blank  upon  the  President.  The  first  ball  passed  through  his  coat 
sleeve,  whereupon  the  President  half  turned  and  received  the 
second  shot  in  the  back.  The  bullet  fractured  a  rib  and  lodged 
so  deeply  in  the  body  that  it  could  not  be  extracted  at  that  time. 
The  wounded  President  was  carried  back  to  the  White  House, 
where,  for  ten  weeks,  attended  by  the  best  medical  skill  available, 
and  having  all  the  comforts  that  love  could  procure,  he  lingered 
between  life  and  death.  His  cheerfulness  and  fortitude  awakened 
the  sympathy  and  commanded  the  admiration  of  the  whole  world. 

Bulletins  announcing  his  condition  were  published  daily  in 

29 


450  ORIGIN   AND    RISE  OF   ANARCHISM. 

every  city  in  the  Uuioii  and  in  all  the  capitals  of  Europe.  A  day 
of  national  supplication  was  set  apart  while  the  President  lingered 
at  Washington,  and  it  was  sacredly  observed.  For  a  time  his 
physicians  were  hopeful,  and  the  bulletins  for  a  period  led  the 
public  to  believe  that  the  President  would  resume  his  duties,  but 
when  the  torrid  weather  of  midsummer  came  the  patient  failed 
perceptibly,  and  although  it  was  done  at  great  hazard,  he  was 
removed  on  September  6,  1881,  by  a  special  train  to  Blberon,  N. 
J.  The  invigorating  sea  breezes  seemed  at  first  to  have  a  bene- 
ficial effect,  but  on  September  15  unmistakable  symptoms  of  blood 
poisoning  were  discovered,  and  on  the  nineteenth,  after  a  few  hours 
of  unconsciousness,  he  died. 

Three  days  later  a  special  train,  heavily  draped  with  emblems 
of  mourning,  passed  through  crowds  of  reverent  spectators  to 
Washington,  and  the  body  was  placed  in  the  rotunda  of  the 
Capitol,  where  it  lay  in  state  for  two  days. 

HUNG  FOR  THE  FOUL  DEED. 

His  murderer,  Charles  Jules  Guiteau,  who  was  caught  as 
soon  as  he  committed  the  crime,  suffered  the  death  penalty  in  the 
jail  in  Washington  after  his  trial  and  conviction. 

It  was  announced  from  Washington  that  active  measures 
would  be  taken  to  stamp  out  anarchism,  in  which  all  civilized 
nations  would  be  expected  to  join.  The  following  is  from  a  well- 
known  newspaper  correspondent : 

"As  a  result  of  the  assassination  of  President  McKinley, 
there  will  be  a  renewal  of  the  international  effort  to]  bring  about 
the  suppression  of  anarchists.  The  few  diplomats  in  Wash- 
ington were  greatly  shocked  by  the  news  from  Buffalo,  and  there 
was  a  unanimous  expression  of  the  view  that  the  several  govern- 
ments should  reach  an  international  agreement  to  stamp  out 
anarchy  as  swiftly  as  possible. 

"  Minister  Wu  is  the  only  diplomat  of  envoy  rank  in  the 
city.  When  I  saw  him  to-night  he  expressed  the  utmost  horror 
at  the  assault  upon  the  President.  *  It  is  a  great  calamity,'  he 
said.  ( I  am  shocked  beyond  expression  by  the  news.  What 


ORIGIN    AND    RISE  OF   ANARCHISM.  451 

could  have  prompted  the  purpose  to  kill  such  a  good  man  as  Mr. 
McKiuley,  who  has  governed  the  country  so  wisely  and  so  well  ? 
And,  in  any  event,  why  should  an  attempt  be  made  to  assassinate 
a  President  of  a  republic  when  his  term  of  office  is  for  four  years 
and  his  successor  can  then  be  lawfully  and  peacefully  elected  ?  ' 

"  I  suggested  to  the  Minister  that  the  President's  assailant 
proved  to  be  an  anarchist. 

" '  The  anarchists  should  all  be  hanged,'  he  responded. 
'  They  should  not  be  allowed  to  commit  such  dastardly  crimes. 
It  is  a  shame,  a  shame.  I  cannot  say  how  deeply  grieved  I  am.' 

"  The  Chinese  Minister  was  asked  what  would  have  been  the 
procedure  in  his  country.  He  answered  with  his  usual  promptness  : 

" 'We  would  give  him  the  death  of  lin-chi.  Do  you  know 
what  that  means  ?  His  family  and  realtives  would  also  be  held 
to  account  for  the  education  of  such  a  monster.  The  crime,  how- 
ever, would  be  impossible  in  my  country.  Besides  a  deep-rooted 
respect  of  the  Emperor,  there  are  sufficient  guards,  and  promis- 
cuous receptions  and  handshakings  are  not  tolerated  ;  but  if  by 
any  possible  chance  such  a  criminal  should  arise,  he  would  be 
condemned  to  the  lin-chi  and  his  relatives  called  to  account.' 

A  HORRIBLE  DEATH. 

"  The  lin-chi  is  the  death  of  a  thousand  cuts.  The  Minister 
says  it  is  a  statutory  punishment  for  certain  crimes  so  heinous 
that  the  imagination  is  appalled  to  contemplate  them  in  the 
abstract.  Among  these  are  the  murder  of  a  father  or  mother. 

"  Mr.  Thomas  Herron,  the  Colombian  Charge  d' Affaires, 
dwelt  upon  the  President's  character  and  acts  throughout  the 
world.  '  His  benevolence  of  character  robbed  him  of  personal 
enemies,'  Mr.  Herron  said.  '  He  is  a  great  and  good  man,  and 
Colombia  will  join  the  United  Sates  in  the  prayer  for  his 
recovery.  Society  should  protect  itself  by  taking  measures  for 
the  suppression  of  anarchists.  The  tragedy  at  Buffalo  may  have 
the  effect  of  bringing  this  about.' 

"  Suppression  of  anarchists  has  engaged  the  attention  of 
governments  of  Europe  for  years,  but  up  to  this  time  no  con- 


452  ORIGIN   AND    RISK   OF  ANARCHISM. 

certed  action  has  been  taken.  The  United  States  was  invited 
several  years  ago  to  attend  an  anti-anarchistic  conference,  bnt 
declined  the  invitation,  becanse  it  was  unable  to  bind  itself  to 
observe  any  course  of  procedure  that  might  be  determined  upon 
because  of  the  safeguards  thrown  by  the  Constitution  around 
personal  liberty  and  personal  rights.  One  of  the  great  causes  of 
complaint  by  Europe  against  the  United  States  is  the  liberty  with 
which  anarchists  can  hatch  their  conspiracies  in  this  country. 

"  Immediately  after  the  assassination  of  King  Humbert  of 
Italy  the  Italian  government  made  representations  to  the  United 
States  contemplating  the  punishment  of  all  anarchists  at  Pater- 
son,  N.  J.,  who  were  involved  in  the  crime.  The  evidence  was 
furnished  to  the  State  Department,  but'  the  Federal  government 
was  unable  to  do  more  than  refer  the  matter  to  the  Governor  of 
New  Jersey,  with  the  request  that  he  make  a  thorough  investiga- 
tion, and  if  the  law  could  be  applied  to  any  persons  suspected  of 
complicity  to  begin  the  proper  legal  measures. 

ACCOMPLICES  ESCAPED. 

"  Insufficient  evidence  and  the  difficulty  of  finding  a  law  to 
fit  the  charge  of  conspiracy  against  the  life  of  a  foreign  sovereign 
permitted  the  escape  of  the  accomplices  of  King  Humbert's  assas- 
sin. Italy  was  compelled  to  acquiesce  in  the  failure  of  the  United 
States  to  destroy  what  she  was  convinced  was  a  nest  of  conspira- 
tors at  Paterson,  but  naturally  she  was  deeply  exercised  over 
what  she  regarded  as  the  inexplicable  attitude  of  the  Washington 
government. 

"It  is  generally  believed  in  diplomatic  circles  that  the  recall 
of  Baron  Fava,  the  Italian  Ambassador,  was  the  outgrowth  of  the 
American  policy  of  non-action.  Italy  now  will  doubtless  appre- 
ciate that  the  American  government  was  as  powerless  to  protect 
its  own  Chief  Executive  as  it  was  to  prevent  a  conspiracy  against 
the  life  of  her  sovereign.  It  is  believed  by  the  diplomats  that 
Europe  will  consider  the  present  moment  opportune  to  revive 
the  proposal  of  an  international  understanding  for  the  suppres- 
sion of  anarchists. 


ORIGIN    AND    RISE   OF  ANARCHISM.  453 

"  In  official  circles  it  is  said  that  an  amendment  of  some 
kind  to  the  constitution  would  have  to  be  made,  as  it  was  at  pres- 
ent impossible  to  punish  a  man  participating  in  a  conspiracy 
against  the  life  of  a  foreign  sovereign.  Until  the  authorization 
is  therefore  given  to  the  Executive,  it  is  likely  that  the  State 
Department  would  be  compelled  to  observe  the  precedent  already 
established  and  decline  the  invitation  tendered. 

"  Senor  Calvo,  Minister  from  Costa  Rica,  expressed  the 
greatest  horror  of  the  terrible  outrage  upon  the  President.  '  Such 
things  occurring  in  a  free  Republic  are  terrible,'  he  said.  '  The 
crime  itself  is  atrocious  on  all  occasions,  but  when  directed  against 
the  life  of  such  a  kindly  and  righteous  President  as  Mr.  McKin- 
ley  it  surpasses  the  utmost  credulity.' 

SEDITIOUS  PUBLICATIONS. 

"  Mr.  Calvo  continued  :  *  I  am  surprised  that  the  rigid  postal 
laws  of  the  United  States  should  permit  the  circulation  of  sedi- 
tious matter.  It  is  treason  to  counsel  the  destruction  of  the  ruler 
of  a  country,  yet  these  virulent  anarchistic  sheets  must  pass 
freely  through  the  mails  in  order  to  be  circulated.  Your  laws 
are  properly  stringent  against  publications  or  writings  inciting 
fraud  or  immorality.  No  avowed  anarchist  should  be  permitted 
to  receive  or  mail  letters.  His  ebullitions  should  be  confiscated 
wherever  found.  This  is  a  matter  of  public  safety.' 

"  Kogoro  Takahira,  Minister  from  Japan,  has  returned  to 
Washington  deeply  affected  by  the  tragedy.  He  said  :  '  Nobody 
could  expect  that  such  a  good  President  of  the  United  States 
should  become  the  victim  of  such  an  appalling  and  dastardly 
crime.  It  is  hardly  possible  to  express  one's  feelings  on  such  an 
occasion,  but  we  join  the  people  of  the  United  States  in  receiving 
the  sad  news  with  surprise  and  indignation,  and  our  sincere  and 
honest  wishes  are  that  he  should  recover  speedily  and  perma- 
nently ;  and  in  this  statemen  I  am  confident  that  I  voice  the 
sentiment  of  my  government  and  my  people  throughout  all 
Japan.' 

"Mr.  Takahira  further  said  that  he  would  never  forget  the 


454  ORIGIN   AND   RISE  OF  ANARCHISM. 

last  day  he  spent  with  the  President  at  Buffalo.  When  the  party 
returned  from  Niagara  the  diplomats  proceeded  to  their  hotel. 
A  friend  at  the  Exposition  grounds  attempted  to  telephone  him 
the  sad  news,  but  was  unable  to  secure  a  wire  which  was  not 
busy.  He  left  the  President  in  the  highest  spirits  and  expected 
to  meet  him  that  night  at  dinner  at  the  house  of  Mrs.  Williams. 
He  was  beginning  his  preparations  for  the  dinner  when  the  sad 
intelligence  was  communicated  and  he  immediately  hastened  to 
the  Milburn  home  to  express  his  grief.  He  added  that  in  his 
country  such  a  crime  was  impossible." 

A  metropolitan  journal  thus  describes  the  situation,  and  does 
not  take  a  hopeful  view  of  our  government  being  able  to  entirely 
stamp  out  anarchism. 

THE  DREAM  OF  FOOLS. 

"  It  is  needless,"  it  says,  "  to  waste  time  denouncing  anarch- 
ism. All  men  who  are  not  dreamers  agree  that  society  cannot 
exist  without  laws  and  officers  to  enforce  them,  and  that  every 
legitimate  means  should  be  used  to  check  the  spread  of  anarchism 
and  put  an  end  to  the  crimes  of  anarchists.  If,  however, 
anarchists  go  no  further  than  holding  a  private  opinion  that  the 
world  can  get  along  without  laws,  we  have  no  possible  legal 
ground  for  action  against  them,  since  they  are  guilty  merely 
of  folly. 

"The  crimes  of  anarchists,  therefore,  may  for  practical 
purposes  be  divided  into  two  classes — murderous  assaults,  like 
that  upon  President  McKinley,  and  the  instigation  of  such 
assaults.  For  dealing  with  these  crimes  the  first  legitimate  means 
is  the  existing  law  ;  the  second,  such  amendments  as  are  in 
accord  with  our  Constitution  and  political  traditions,  and  are 
capable  of  enforcement. 

V  As  for  murder,  we  already  have  adequate  laws.  Death  is 
a  sufficient  penalty.  Furthermore,  the  case  of  the  Chicago 
anarchists  shows  that  those  who  incite  to  murder,  even  though 
they  may  not  strike  the  blow  themselves,  may  be  convicted  as 
accomplices  before  the  fact.  If  the  Penal  Code  of  any  State  lacks 


ORIGIN   AND   RISE  OF  ANARCHISM.  455 

such  a  provision  as  that  under  which  the  convictions  were 
obtained  in  Illinois  in  1886,  an  amendment  is  a  comparatively 
easy  matter. 

"  Every  anarchist  who  plans  such  an  assassination  expects 
nothing  but  death.  He  hopes  to  succeed,  and  he  knows  that  in 
any  event  he  is  sure  of  capture.  Even  if  we  mark  our  horror  of 
attacks  upon  the  President  by  imposing  the  death  penalty  in 
every  case,  we  shall  merely  satisfy  our  feelings,  without  making 
the  least  headway  in  checking  the  crime. 

"  In  regard  to  incendiary  talk,  we  already  have,  in  New  York 
State  at  least,  a  law  which  has  been  invoked  several  times  with 
salutary  effect.  Section  451  of  the  Penal  Code,  entitled  '  Unlaw- 
ful Assemblages,'  reads  : 

THE  LAW  IN  THE  MATTER. 

Ul  Whenever  three  or  more  persons  assemble  with  intent  to 
commit  any  unlawful  act  by  force  ;  or  assemble  with  intent  to 
carry  out  any  purpose  in  such  a  manner  as  to  disturb  the  public 
peace  ;  or  being  assembled,  attempt  or  threaten  any  act  tending 
toward  a  breach  of  the  peace,  or  any  injury  to  person  or  property, 
or  any  unlawful  act,  such  an  assembly  is  unlawful,  and  every 
person  participating  therein  by  his  presence,  aid,  or  instigation 
is  guilty  of  a  misdemeanor.  But  this  section  shall  not  be  so  con- 
strued as  to  prevent  the  peaceable  assembling  of  persons  for  law- 
ful purposes  of  protest  or  petition.' 

"According  to  the  same  code,  a  misdemeanor  '  is  punishable 
by  imprisonment  in  a  penitentiary  or  county  jail  for  not  more 
than  one  year,  or  by  a  fine  of  not  more  than  $500,  or  by  both.' 
Under  this  law,  John  Most  and  Emma  Goldman  have  served 
terms  in  the  penitentiary. 

"One  proposition,  which  has  been  urged  by  a  Boston  journal, 
is  a  general  law  to  send  the  anarchist  to  the  lunatic  asylum, 
instead  of  to  jail.  If  the  anarchist  really  be  a  lunatic,  there  is 
no  difficulty  whatever  about  sending  him  to  the  asylum  under  the 
present  law.  If  he  be  not  mentally  diseased,  no  law  to  commit 
him  to  an  asylum  can  be  framed  under  which  the  editor  of  the 


4^  ORIGIN   AND   RISE   OF  ANARCHISM. 

Boston  journal  will  be  safe.  A  law  which  should  declare  Anar- 
chists, Communists,  Christian  Scientists,  Populists,  or  any  other 
class  of  citizens  insane,  could  never  be  enacted  except  by  a  Legis- 
lature of  lunatics. 

"The  only  possible  change  in  the  present  law  is  to  make  the 
crime  of  incendiary  talk  a  felony,  rather  than  a  misdemeanor — 
that  is,  make  it  punishable  by  long  imprisonment  or  death.  In 
the  heat  of  the  present  excitement,  the  death  penalty  has  been 
proposed  for  attempted  assassination  ;  but  public  opinion,  on 
sober  second  thought,  would  reject  such  an  amendment  as  likely 
to  make  martyrs  of  the  anarchists,  win  sympathy  for  them,  and 
strengthen  their  cause,  rather  than  weaken  it.  The  plan  of 
lengthening  the  term  of  imprisonment  beyond  a  year  is  more 

feasible. 

REASONABLE    SAFEGUARDS. 

"Even  here,  however,  we  run  the  risk  of  imposing  too  severe 
a  penalty,  and  thus  losing  more  than  we  gain.  Such  an  amend- 
ment should  not  pass  till  the  present  excitement  has  subsided, 
the  subject  has  been  fully  discussed,  the  experience  of  other 
countries  carefully  considered,  and  every  safeguard  provided  for 
reasonable  freedom  of  speech.  With  such  precautions  it  might 
be  well  to  allow  the  Judge  to  extend  the  sentence  in  atrocious 
cases. 

"Judicious  enforcement  of  the  present  law,  then,  and  an 
amendment  declaring  incendiary  talk  a  felony  instead  of  a  mis- 
demeanor, really  exhaust  our  resources  in  dealing  with  the 
offenses  of  anarchists  who  are  already  resident  in  the  United 
States.  The  question  of  exclusion  remains. 

"By  the  present  law  we  prohibit  the  immigration  to  this 
country  of  '  persons  who  have  been  convicted  of  a  felony  or  other 
infamous  crime,  or  misdemeanor  involving  moral  turpitude.'  An 
effort  to  close  our  doors  to  all  anarchists  meets  with  some  of  the 
same  difficulties  that  attend  a  movement  to  visit  any  other  pun- 
ishment on  them  as  a  class.  One  bill  for  this  purpose  has  alreadv 
been  abandoned  in  Congress  as  impracticable.  We  cannot  exclude 
the  '  philosophical '  auarchist,  who  holds  his  theory  as  a  private 


ORIGIN   AND   RISE  OF  ANARCHISM.  457 

opinion,  and  abhors  the  use  of  force  ;  we  cannot  detect  him,  and, 
even  if  we  could,  he  is  not  particularly  dangerous.  Then,  too, 
we  must  bear  in  mind  that  his  anarchism,  fostered  in  many  cases 
by  Russian  despotism,  is  likely  to  be  laid  aside  and  forgotten 
when  he  breathes  the  free  air  of  the  republic. 

"  Under  the  present  law  we  can  already  keep  out  all  who 
have  been  convicted  of  violence  or  of  instigating  it.  The  only 
class,  therefore,  for  which  we  need  a  new  law  is  made  up  of  the 
instigators  of  violence,  who  have  not  been  detected  or  captured  in 
Europe.  We  can  hardly  go  to  the  length  of  excluding  them  on 
mere  hearsay  or  suspicion,  but,  if  we  want  anything  like  legal 
evidence,  we  must  maintain  in  Europe  a  detective  and  police 
force  superior  to  that  maintained  by  the  European  governments, 
which  are  more  eager  than  ours  to  run  down  and  convict  an 

anarchist. 

TRADITIONS  OF  A  CENTURY. 

"  Nor  can  we  trample  on  our  traditions  of  a  century  and  a 
quarter  by  sending  back  men  of  high  character  and  aims  who  are 
political  refugees.  In  short,  we  shall  find  it  beyond  our  power  to 
do  much  more  than  enforce  rigorously  the  present  law." 

The  method  by  which  freedom  of  speech  may  be  limited  so 
that  the  preaching  of  anarchism  shall  be  effectually  repressed 
without  endangering  any  legitimate  right  is  a  problem  that  now 
confronts  the  American  people. 

In  1893  and  1894,  France  teemed  with  associations  and  clubs 
of  anarchists  of  the  most  dangerous  type.  Bombs  were  being 
thrown  about  in  public  places,  and  the  disorder  finally  resulted  in 
the  stabbing  of  President  Sadi-Carnot  while  riding  in  his  carriage 
at  the  exposition  in  Lyons.  The  French  Parliament  promptly 
took  the  whole  subject  under  advisement  and  passed  a  series  of 
laws  which  have  been  in  a  high  degree  effectual  in  breaking  up 
anarchist  organizations  all  over  the  republic.  These  laws  in  the 
main  are  three  in  number.  The  first,  enacted  on  December  12, 
1893,  had  for  its  purpose  a  modification  of  the  libel  laws  so  that 
exceptional  penalties  could  be  enforced  against  the  publishers  of 
anarchistic  papers. 


458  ORIGIN  AND  RISE  OF  ANARCHISM. 

The  second,  passed  December  18,  1893,  made  it  a  punishable 
offense  to  belong  to  anarchistic  associations  and  clubs,  and  the 
third,  passed  July  28,  1894,  just  after  Sadi-Carnot's  assassination, 
carried  the  principle  still  farther,  increased  the  penalties  and  pre- 
scribed changes  in  legal  process  calculated  to  make  conviction 
more  speedy  and  certain.  As  a  result  of  this  legislation  danger- 
ous groups  have  been  dissolved  in  France,  newspapers  have 
been  suppressed,  club  rooms  have  been  abandoned  and  libraries 
have  been  dispersed. 

THE  FRENCH  LAW. 

Summarizing  this  legislation,  we  can  very  soon  find  lines 
along  which  to  frame  laws  against  the  anarchists  in  this  country. 
The  French  law  creates  three  distinct  classes  of  crime — "  provo- 
cation," "apologie"  and  "  excitation  "  of  soldiers  to  disobedience 
of  their  superior  officers.  While  the  last  of  these  deeply  concerns 
a  country  in  which  military  conscription  is  universal,  it  can  play 
but  small  part  with  us,  and  there  remain,  therefore,  the  two 
crimes  of  "  provocation  "  and  "  apologie,"  that  is,  incitement  to 
crime  (murder  or  destruction  of  property)  by  the  spread  of 
anarchistic  teachings  and  the  justification  or  glorification  of 
crimes  of  anarchists  by  anarchists. 

"  Apologie,"  while  it  used  to  be  a  punishable  offense  in 
France,  was  abandoned  many  years  ago.  "  It  was  not  suspected 
then,"  says  M.  Loubat  in  his  admirable  work  on  the  French  laws 
against  anarchists,  "  that  a  diabolical  sect  would  arise  to  glorify 
assassination,  incendiarism  and  destruction  and  make  saints  and 
heroes  of  abominable  bandits."  At  the  death  of  Sadi-Carnot  the 
crime  had  to  be  revived  for  the  anarchists,  and  many  of  them 
have  been  punished  in  France  for  the  exaltation  of  the  authors  of 
foul  deeds. 

The  French  penalties  are  sufficiently  severe  to  potently  deter 
the  spread  of  anarchistic  doctrine.  If  either  of  the  two  crimes  of 
"provocation"  or  "  apologie  "  is  committed  through  the  press  the 
punishment  is  imprisonment  for  from  one  to  five  years  and  the 
payment  of  a  fine  of  from.  100  to  3,000  francs,  together  with  con,- 


ORIGIN   AND   RISE   OF  ANARCHISM.  459 

fiscation  of  all  outstanding  copies  of  the  publication.  If  it  is  com- 
mitted in  a  more  private  way  the  penalties  are  only  slightly 
modified.  The  act  of  incitement  or  exaltation  is  punishable, 
even  if  only  one  person  be  present,  and  whether  by  speech,  by 
printed  paper,  by  writing,  cartoon,  placard,  song,  cry  (such  as 
"Hurrah  for  anarchy")  or  by  any  other  means,  the  crime  is  the 
same. 

If  the  sentence  pronounced  is  for  more  than  one  year  or  if  the 
prisoner  has  been  before  convicted  of  a  like  offense  at  any  time 
within  ten  years  the  law  prescribes  an  additional  penalty  of  exile. 
The  publication  of  a  report  of  anarchist  trials  in  the  courts  is  pro- 
hibited under  heavy  penalties.  Every  member  of  an  anarchistic 
organization  formed  to  advocate  attacks  on  life  and  property 
may  be  imprisoned  and  banished  by  the  French  law  and  the  meet- 
ing places  of  the  organization  closed  up.  Those  who  lease  build- 
ings to  such  societies  are  made  accessories  to  the  crime. 

It  is  along  these  lines  that  we  must  shape  anti-anarchist 
legislation  in  this  country,  and  we  should  begin  the  work  at  once. 
There  are  bands  of  these  social  brigands  in  each  large  American 
city.  We  owe  it  to  ourselves  to  uproot  these  pernicious  gangs, 
which,  whatever  else  they  have  done,  have  produced  in  a  short 
time  the  murderers  of  the  heads  of  two  great  governments,  Presi- 
dent McKinley  and  King  Humbert.  It  is  no  infringement  of  any 
valuable  American  liberty  to  suppress  their  newspapers,  dissolve 
their  clubs  and  close  up  their  meeting  places.  These  results  can 
be  attained  here  as  well  as  in  France,  and  by  a  very  similar  system 
of  legal  procedure. 


CHAPTER  XXIV 

Trial  and  Conviction  of  the  Assassin — Remarkable  Scenes  in 
Court — Counsel  Laments  the  President's  Death — Sen- 
tence of  Death  Pronounced. 

THB  assassin  of  President  McKinley  was  convicted  of  murder 
in  the  first  degree  at  4.26  o'clock  in  the  afternoon  of  Sep- 
tember 24th.  Less  than  three  hours  of  trial  was  required  to 
hurry  him  to  his  doom,  so  that  this  will  probably  rank  as  the 
quickest  capital  case  in  the  criminal  annals  of  America. 

Virtually  nothing  was  done  beyond  the  narration  of  the 
established  facts  of  the  killing.  What  was  termed  defense  con- 
sisted merely  in  admonition  to  the  jury  to  gravely  consider 
whether  or  not  the  assassin  was  laboring  under  mental  aberra- 
tion, but  no  witnesses  were  called,  and  the  address  of  counsel  was, 
in  all  effect,  a  plea  for  the  prosecution. 

The  jury  was  away  from  the  court  room  exactly  thirty-five 
minutes,  but  only  from  a  sense  of  the  decencies  of  legal  proce- 
dure. They  were  unanimous  in  their  finding  before  they  left  the 
box,  and  spent  not  a  moment  in  deliberation. 

Says  an  eye-witness  of  the  trial  : 

"  Almost  at  the  very  moment  that  the  last  dramatic  episode 
was  acting  to-day,  the  father,  brother  and  sister  of  the  assassin 
arrived  from  Cleveland.  They  are  Paul,  Waldeck  and  Victoria 
Czolgosz.  Their  avowed  purpose  was  to  aid  in  the  speedy  pun- 
ishment of  the  murderer  of  whom  they  speak  in  terms  of  loathing, 
but  they  were  nevertheless  taken  into  custody  as  a  measure  of 
precaution,  and  Czolgosz  does  not  know  they  are  in  the  city. 
Even  if  he  knew  he  probably  would  not  care. 

"  The  fellow  is  thoroughly  callous.  Resigned  to  the  inevi- 
table consequences  of  his  crime  from  the  very  moment  of  its 
inception,  he  is  evidently  empty  of  all  human  feeling.  Neither 
hoping  nor  wishing  for  compassion,  he  rejected  the  creeds  of  God 

460 


CONVICTION   AND  SENTENCE  OF   THE   ASSASSIN.  461 

and  man  and  the  ties  of  blood  and  friendship  at  the  same  time, 
and,  with  the  abject  indifference  of  an  animal,  has  ever  since 
looked  forward  only  to  the  verdict  of  the  darkness  and  the 
silence  that  awaits  him. 

"  So  much  became  clear  in  to-day's  testimony,  which  revealed 
many  new  details,  and  awful  corroboration  was  given  to  it  in  the 
aspect  and  bearing  of  the  creature  at  the  most  desperate  moment 
that  well  can  fall  to  human  kind.  Not  the  tremor  of  a  lash 
ruffled  his  stolidity  when  the  words  -of  doom  were  uttered.  His 
fixed,  abstracted  gaze  never  stirred.  He  was  still  stone  and  iron, 
unrelenting,  remorseless  and  heedless. 

"  It  was  only  twenty  minutes  to  10  o'clock  when  the  detec- 
tives brought  him  into  court  this  morning.  When  they 
unshackled  his  hands  he  passed  them  carelessly  over  his  thick 
damp  locks.  Then  he  crossed  his  legs,  tapped  a  tattoo  on  the 
arm  of  his  chair  for  a  moment,  and  settled  into  the  immovable 
attitude  which  has  marked  him  throughout. 

BEGAN  TO  CARE  FOR  HIS  APPEARANCE. 

"  He  did  not  sleep  well  last  night,  his  wardens  said,  but  ale 
his  breakfast  this  morning  with  relish,  consuming  chops,  eggs, 
rolls  and  three  cups  of  coffee.  He  displayed  some  vanity  about 
his  appearance,  too,  insisting  on  straightening  his  hair  with  his 
fingers  and  smoothing  the  wrinkles  in  his  clothes." 

By  10  o'clock  Justice  White  was  on  the  bench,  the  lawyers 
in  their  places,  and  the  hearing  of  evidence  again  in  swift  prog- 
ress. Mr.  Mann  was  recalled  and  gave  some  very  interesting 
medical  testimony.  Judge  Lewis  cross-examined.  First  he 

asked : 

"  How  do  you  guard  against  the  invasion   of  germs  in  the 

wound  ? " 

"  By  being  very  careful  in  the  treatment,"  said  the  doctor. 

*When  was  the  condition  found  at  the  autopsy  to  be 
expected  from  the  wounds  the  President  received?" 

"  It  was  not  expected,  and  was  very  unusual.  I  never  before 
saw  anything  just  like  it." 


462  CONVICTION  AND  SENTENCE  OF  THE  ASSASSIN 

"  Were  there  any  indications  that  the  President  was  not  in 
good  physical  condition  ?  " 

"The  President  was  not  in  perfect  condition.  He  had  been 
somewhat  weakened  by  hard  work  and  lack  of  exercise," 

District  Attorney  Penny  then  asked : 

"  From  your  knowledge  and  history  of  the  case  was  there 
anything  known  to  medical  or  surgical  science  which  could  have 
saved  the  life  of  the  President  ?  n 

"  There  was  not." 

Lewis  L.  Babcock,  who  was  a  member  of  the  ceremonies 
committee  on  President's  day,  and  Bdward  Rice,  chairman  of  that 
committee,  then  gave  their  eye-witness  versions  of  the  shooting. 
Both  were  within  a  few  feet  of  the  President  at  the  time.  Mr. 
Rice's  narration  was  very  graphic. 

A  ZEALOUS  STUDENT  OF  ANARCHISM. 

The  next  witness  gave  the  first  circumstantial  story  of  the 
confession  alleged  to  have  been  made  by  Czolgosz  on  the  night 
of  his  arrest.  He  was  James  I/.  Quackenbush,  also  a  member 
of  the  ceremonial  committee.  He  said  : 

"  I  accompanied  District  Attorney  Penny  to  police  headquar- 
ters, arriving  there  between  10  and  n  o'clock.  Upon  reaching 
there  we  went  to  Chief  Bull's  office.  Defendant  was  at  a  table 
in  his  office.  Detectives  Geary  and  Solomon,  Inspector  Donovan, 
Chief  Bull,  Mr.  Haller,  Mr.  Storr  and  Frank  T.  Haggerty  were 
present,  and  at  intervals  Mr.  Ireland,  myself  and  Mr.  Cusack. 
Mr.  Penny  immediately  began  to  talk  to  the  defendant  about 
what  he  had  done. 

"  Then  the  defendant  replied  that  he  had  killed  the  Presi- 
dent because  he  thought  it  was  his  duty.  He  said  he  understood 
the  consequences,  and  was  willing  to  take  chances. 

"  He  illustrated  with  a  handkerchief  the  way  he  had  done 
it.  He  said  he  went  to  the  Falls  the  day  before  to  kill  the  Presi- 
dent, but  was  not  able  to  get  near  enough.  He  added  that  he 
went  to  the  Temple  of  Music  for  the  purpose  of  killing  the 
President,  having  his  hand  with  the  revolver  in  his  right-hand 


CONVICTION   AND  SENTENCE  OF  THE  ASSASSIN.  468 

pocket.  He  stood  in  the  crowd,  but  said  that  when  he  got  in  the 
line  he  pnt  the  hand  against  his  stomach.  Had  he  not  been 
stopped  he  would  have  fired  more  shots. 

"  He  said  he  had  been  thinking  about  killing  the  President 
for  three  or  four  days.  He  had  definitely  determined  to  kill  the 
President  the  day  before." 

"  Did  he  say  why  ?  "  asked  the  District  Attorney. 

"  Yes ;  he  said  that  he  did  not  believe  in  the  government ; 
that  President  McKinley  was  a  tyrant,  and  should  be  removed. 
When  he  saw  the  President  in  the  grounds,  with  the  crowds 
struggling  to  get  near  him,  he  said  he  did  not  believe  that  any 
one  man  should  receive  such  service,  while  all  others  regarded  it 
as  a  privilege  to  render  it." 

"  Did  he  say  where  he  had  learned  such  theories  ?  " 

"THOUGHT  IT  WAS  HIS  DUTY." 

"  He  said  he  had  been  studying  those  doctrines  for  several 
years  ;  that  he  did  not  believe  in  government,  the  church,  or  the 
marriage  relation.  He  gave  names  of  several  papers  he  had  read, 
one  of  the  Free  Society,  and  mentioned  places  in  Ohio  where  he 
had  heard  these  subjects  discussed." 

This  was  the  first  official  mention  of  the  anarchy  plea  story, 
and  it  was  apparent  on  cross-examination  that  Judge  Titus  was 
skeptical  about  it. 

"Were  these  statements  made,"  he  asked,  "in  response  to 
suggestions  from  the  officials  or  voluntarily  ?  " 

"At  first,"  answered  the  witness,  "in  response  to  questions. 
Afterward  he  talked  in  a  conversational  way,  and  did  not  decline 
to  answer  anything." 

"Was  he  excited?" 

"  I  should  say  he  was  disturbed,  but  not  mentally.  His  face 
hurt  him  where  he  had  been  struck,  but  he  talked  naturally.  I 
asked  him  to  write  a  brief  statement  for  publication,  and  he 
started  to,  but  his  hand  shook  so,  he  dictated  the  follow- 
ing: 

"  'I  killed  President  McKinley  because  I  believed  it  to  be  my 


464  .  CONVICTION.  AND  SENTENCE  OF   THE  ASSASSIN. 

duty.     I  don't  believe  one  man  should  have  so  much   service  and 
another  man  should  have  none.'  " 

District  Attorney  Penney  then  interpolated  : 
'  You  made  a  statement  that  he  said  he  was  an  anarchist  •  is 
that  right  ?  " 

:<  I  didn't  make  it  so  strong  as  that.  He  said  he  didn't 
believe  in  rulers,  and  had  done  his  duty." 

The  District  Attorney  used  the  word  several  times  in  ques- 
tioning him,  and  the  substance  of  his  answers  was  that  he  did  all 
the  theorizing  on  the  matter  for  himself. 

"During  this  line  of  testimony  Czolgosz,  without  shifting  his 
position,  allowed  his  head  to  incline  until  it  almost  touched  his  left 
shoulder,  but  he  did  not  raise  his  eyes,  and  once  or  twice  dropped 
into  a  little  doze.  He  was  so  absolutely  unconcerned  that  he  did 
not  appear  to  be  even  listening  to  the  testimony. 

THE  ASSASSIN  THROTTLED. 

With  the  calling  of  the  Secret  Service  operatives  the  amus- 
ing little  rivalry  as  to  who  first  attacked  the  assassin  after  the 
shooting  came  up. 

Albert  Gallagher,  of  the  Chicago  office,  said  that  he  jumped 
toward  Czolgosz  and  was  borne  down  in  the  crowd.  The  revolver 
was  knocked  from  the  assassin's  hand  and  somebody  else  got  it, 
but  he  got  the  handkerchief  He  took  this  from  his  pocketbook 
and  displayed  it.  It  was  a  dirty  rag,  with  two  holes  made  by  the 
bullets,  and  it  was  not  a  woman's  handkerchief,  as  some  imagina- 
tive stories  have  said. 

George  K.  Foster,  the  Washington  Secret  Service  man,  said  : 

"  I  saw  this  man  here  (pointing  to  the  assassin)  put  his 
hands  together  with  a  clap,  and  simultaneously  I  heard  two 
reports. 

"  I  grabbed  this  man  here  (again  pointing  to  Czolgosz),  and 
just  then  some  one  gave  him  a  shove  from  the  other  side.  We 
went  down  to  the  floor.  I  tried  to  get  a  crack  at  him  as  he  went 
down,  but  could  not.  I  saw  Gallagher  and  yelled  :  '  Al,  get  the 
gun  !  get  the  gun  !  Al,  get  the  gun  !'  " 


CONVICTION   AND  SENTENCE  OF   THE   ASSASSIN.  465 

Judge  Titus  took  up  the  cross-examination. 

"  Were  you  observing  the  people  in  the  line  to  see  if  they 
were  armed  ?" 

"I  was  trying  to." 

"  Didn't  you  see  this  man  with  his  arm  across  his  breast  ?" 

"  No  ;  they  were  passing  too  close  together." 

'  The  line  passed  right  in  front  of  you,  and  this  man  had  his 
arm  vip  with  a  white  handkerchief  wound  round  his  hand,  and 
yet  you  could  not  see  it  ?" 

"  I  didn't  see  it  and   I  was  looking,"  answered  Foster. 

POLICE  SUPERINTENDENT  TESTIFIES. 

The  testimony  of  the  afternoon  session  was  largely  corrobo- 
rative of  what  had  gone  before.  Superintendent  Bull,  of  the  local 
police,  reiterated  the  story  of  the  confession,  and  added  that  of 
the  visit  of  Walter  Nowak,  of  Cleveland,  to  Czolgosz  the  morning 
after  the  shooting.  He  said  : 

"  On  Saturday  morning  Nowak  was  brought  into  the  Super- 
intendent's office  and  immediately  recognized  Czolgosz.  Nowak 
said  that  he  knew  him  in  Cleveland.  He  said  to  Czolgosz  :  '  You 
know  me,  Czolgosz.  I  have  always  been  a  good  friend  of  yours. 
Why  did  you  commit  this  crime — this  crime  which  will  bring 
disgrace  on  the  whole  Polish  race — this  crime  which  will  bring 
disgrace  on  your  father  and  family  ?' 

"Czolgosz  only  smiled,  and  said  that  Nowak  was  not  a  par- 
ticular friend." 

uHe  was  asked  if  he  wanted  to  see  a  lawyer,  and  he  said  he 
did  not  because  he  did  not  need  one.  He  also  said  he  had  no 
friends,  and  did  not  care  to  see  his  father  and  mother." 

At  the  end  of  this  testimony  District  Attorney  Penney  rested 
for  the  people,  and  amid  profound  silence  Jiidge  Lewis  arose  to 
open  the  defense.  He  began  by  explaining  the  position  of  himself 
and  his  colleague,  and  almost  entreated  that  the  legal  necessity  of 
it  be  understood.  As  he  went  on  to  discuss  the  case  his  voice 
trembled  and  he  almost  wept. 

"That,  gentlemen,  is  about  all  I  have  to  say.     Our  President 

30 


466  CONVICTION   AND  SENTENCE  OF  THE   ASSASSIN. 

was  a  grand  man.  I  watched  his  career  for  twenty  years,  and 
always  had  the  profoundest  esteem  for  him.  He  was  a  tender  and 
devoted  husband,  a  man  of  finest  character,  and  his  death  is  the 
saddest  blow  I  have  ever  known." 

He  concluded  abruptly,  sank  into  his  chair,  and  pressed  a 
handkerchief  to  his  eyes.  It  was  the  strangest  plea  for  a  murderer 
ever  heard.  Judge  Titus  then  arose. 

"  The  remarks  of  my  associate,"  he  said,  "  so  completely  cover 
the  ground  that  it  is  not  necessary  for  me  to  add  anything." 

SENTENCED  TO    DEATH. 

This  sudden  action  on  the  face  of  the  expectation  of  expert 
testimony  on  insanity  was  a  great  surprise,  and  a  buzz  of  talk 
followed.  Silence  fell  again  when  District  Attorney  Penney  arose 
for  the  last  speech.  It  was  brief,  but  full  of  feeling.  He  dwelt 
upon  the  entire  certainty  of  the  people's  case  and  the  utter 
absence  of  defense  and  urged  that  just  as  a  defendant  must  be 
presumed  innocent  until  proved  guilty,  so  he  must  be  presumed 
sane  until  proved  otherwise. 

Apart  from  that  argument  the  Prosecutor  spoke  of  the  horror 
of  the  crime  and  the  eminent  virtues  of  the  martyr  in  such  a  strain 
of  simple  eloquence  that  men  and  women  wept  alike.  Czolgosz 
never  moved  a  muscle. 

It  was  3.25  o'clock  when  Judge  White  charged  the  jury. 
He,  too,  paid  tender  tribute  to  the  memory  of  the  dead  man  and 
then  instructed  the  jury  in  the  legal  requirements  of  the  city. 

They  retired  at  3.51,  and  thirty-five  minutes  later  brought  in 
a  verdict  of  murder  in  the  first  degree. 

On  September  26th,  Leon  Czolgosz  was  sentenced  to  die  dur- 
ing the  week  beginning  October  28th.  The  sentence  was  pro- 
nounced by  Justice  White  before  whom  the  murderer  was  tried. 
The  assassin  showed  signs  of  fear  as  the  voice  of  the  Judge  pro- 
nounced his  doom.  During  the  night  following,  guarded  by  near- 
ly a  score  of  deputy  sheriffs,  he  was  removed  to  Auburn  Peniten- 
tiary. He  collapsed  on  arriving  at  the  prison,  said  he  was  sorry 
for  his  deed  and  expressed  sympathy  for  Mrs.  McKinley. 


CHAPTER  XXV. 

Our  New  President— Hon.  Theodore  Roosevelt  Hurries  to 
Buffalo  on  Receiving  News  of  Mr.  McKinley's  Death — 
Sworn  in  as  President  with  Impressive  Ceremony — 
Pathetic  Scene— His  First  Official  Act. 


our  martyred  President  breathed  his  last,  Vice-Presi- 
dent Roosevelt  was  far  up  in  the  Adirondack  Mountains  of 
northern  New  York.  A  few  hours  later  his  private  secretary 
gave  out  the  following  statement : 

'  The  Vice-President  wishes  it  understood  that  when  he  left 
the  Tahawus  Club  house  yesterday  morning,  (September  i3th) 
to  go  on  his  hunting  trip  into  the  mountains,  he  had  just  received 
a  dispatch  from  Buffalo  stating  that  President  McKinley  was  in 
splendid  condition  and  was  not  in  the  slightest  danger." 

Having  been  summoned  to  return  instantly  to  Buffalo,  Mr. 
Roosevelt  was  wildly  careering  over  the  mountain  passes  of  the 
Adirondacks  in  a  swinging,  bouncing  buckboard  when  President 
McKinley  expired,  and  he  became  in  fact  the  President  of  the 
United  States.  He  thought  he  was  racing  with  death,  but  death 
had  already  won.  He  was  on  the  last  relay  before  reaching  Aden 
Alair,  and  Orrin  Kellogg,  one  of  the  surest  drivers  in  the  North 
Woods,  was  urging  his  two  bronchos  to  do  their  best  up  the  wind- 
ing inclines  and  down  again. 

It  was  at  Aden  Alair  that  "  Mike  "  Cronin  took  the  impatient 
Vice-President  in  charge  and  at  the  same  time  earned  for  himself 
eternal  fame  as  the  most  level  headed  and  uncommunicative  per- 
son the  world  ever  saw.  In  his  pocket  there  reposed  a  telegram, 
conveyed  by  telephone  and  \vritten  down,  addressed  to  Mr.  Roose- 
velt. He  knew  it  contained  the  fateful  news  from  Buffalo. 

He  noted  Mr.  Roosevelt's  increasing  nervousness  and  thought 
it  the  part  of  discretion  and  wisdom  to  deliver  the  telegram,  at  the 

467 


468  OUR    NEW   PRESIDENT. 

other  end  of  the  twenty  mile  route.  Mr.  Roosevelt  was  in  abso- 
lute ignorance  of  the  termination  of  the  fatal  tragedy  at  Buffalo, 
and  the  astute  driver  thought  it  best  not  to  increase  his  impatience 
or  further  try  his  nerves.  So,  for  a  score  of  long,  tortuous  miles 
he  grimly  sat  alongside  his  lone,  but  distinguished  passenger, 
keeping  as  tight  a  grip  on  his  secret  as  he  did  on  his  reins. 

This  is  Secretary  Hay's  official  notification  to  Mr.  Roosevelt, 
sent  before  daylight  in  the  morning,  and  which  "  Mike " 
Cronin,  the  driver,  did  not  deliver  until  the  perilous  ride  over  the 
Adirondacks  was  over  : — 

"  Hon.  Theodore  Roosevelt,  North  Creek,  N.  Y. 
"The  President  died  at  2:15  this  morning. 

"JOHN  HAY,  Secretary  of  State." 

DASH  DOWN  THE  MOUNTAIN   ROADS. 

But  the  story  of  the  dash  down  the  rocky  mountain  roads  is 
best  told  by  "  Mike"  Cronin  himself.  First,  he  must  be  described. 
He  is  the  landlord  of  the  Aden  Lair  Lodge.  In  the  sturdy  man- 
hood of  the  thirties,  he  is  the  perfect  type  of  the  hardy  moun- 
taineer, rugged  and  strong,  with  the  eagle's  eye  and  the  bulldog's 
nerve  and  tenacity.  He  is  just  the  man  to  guide  the  chariot  of 
the  hills,  the  vehicle  that  flies,  the  buckboard.  When  the  Vice- 
President  jumped  out  of  the  Kellogg  buckboard,  Cronin  was 
ready.  Two  horses,  j  ust  as  impatient  as  the  man  they  were  to 
haul,  had  long  been  hitched  and  standing  alongside  the  road.  A 
lantern  was  suspended  over  the  dashboard.  Its  flickering  light 
only  made  the  driving  reins  more  clearly  visible.  The  black 
night  it  made  blacker. 

But  this  is  the  way  the  Spyhnx  of  the  Mountains  tells  it : — 

"  I  received  notice  at  noon,  over  the  telephone,  to  have  every- 
thing ready  for  quick  work,  and  that  is  j  ust  exactly  what  I  did, 
and  I  was  soon  ready  to  start  at  any  moment  Mr.  Roosevelt  might 
reach  Aden  Lair.  I  had  a  span  of  blacks — fast  steppers — hooked 
up,  and,  what  was  still  better  than  their  speed,  they  knew  the 
road  as  well  as  I  did  myself,  having  made  the  trip  from  three  to 


OUR    NEW   PRESIDENT.  469 

six  times  a  week  all  summer.  I  had  expected  Mr.  Roosevelt 
along  several  hours  sooner — as  he  might  have  been  had  it  not 
been  for  the  careless  bungling  in  getting  word  to  him.  He  ought 
to  have  been  hustled  along  faster,  too. 

"  My  !  I  made  the  last  sixteen  miles  in  one  hour  and  forty- 
three  minutes.  It  was  the  darkest  night  I  ever  saw.  I  could  not 
even  see  my  horses,  except  the  spots  where  the  flickering  lantern 
light  fell  on  them.  This  time  beat  the  best  record  ever  made 
before  by  a  quarter  of  an  hour,  and  that  record  I  had  made  myself, 
with  a  two-seater,  in  daylight. 

"  While  I  was  watching  for  Mr.  Roosevelt  I  was  fooled  several 
times.  There  was  a  dance  at  a  road  house,  three  miles  from  my 
place,  and  after  midnight  the  crowd  was  driving  home — a  regulai 
stream  coming,  with  lights  in  their  wagons — and  I  kept  thinking 
each  one  was  Mr.  Roosevelt.  There  was  a  rainy  mist,  or  a  misty 
rain,  and  this  made  the  night,  already  very  dark,  perfectly  black. 

ROOSEVELT'S  REMARKABLE  NERVE. 

u  Mr.  Roosevelt  is  the  nerviest  man  I  ever  saw,  and  I  ain't 
easily  scared  myself.  At  one  place,  while  we  were  going  down  a 
slippery  hill,  one  of  the  horses  stumbled.  It  was  a  ticklish  bit  of 
road,  and  I  was  beginning  to  get  somewhat  uneasy  and  began 
holding  the  team  back,  but  Mr.  Roosevelt  said  :  '  Oh,  that  don't 
matter.  Push  ahead  ! ' 

"  At  another  place  we  were  going  around  a  curve  on  a  dugout 
— which,  you  know,  is  a  piece  of  road  cut  in  a  steep  hillside.  It 
was  a  dangerous  place,  for  if  we  had  been  upset  we  would  have 
been  pitched  headlong  down  seventy-five  or  a  hundred  feet.  I 
told  Mr.  Roosevelt  the  danger  as  we  drew  near  this  risky  spot, 
and  suggested  that  I  should  slow  up  until  we  struck  a  better  road. 
He  replied  :  '  Not  at  all ;  push  ahead.  If  you  are  not  afraid  I  am 
not.  Push  ahead  ! '  And  so  we  did.  Luckily  we  had  a  clear  road, 
and  did  not  meet  a  single  team  through  the  whole  drive. 

"  Did  the  President  talk  much  ?  Very  little  about  the  situa^ 
tion.  Most  of  the  time  he  seemed  to  be  in  deep  thought  and  very 
sad.  About  all  the  words  he  spoke  were  '  Keep  up  the  pace.'  He 


470  OUR    NEW   PRESIDENT, 

held  his  watch  in  his  hand  all  the  while,  and  kept  continually 
asking  how  far  we  had  come  or  how  far  we  still  had  to  go,  Until 
he  got  to  Aden  Lair  he  had  carried  a  lantern  in  his  hand,  and 
he  offered  to  do  the  same  with  me,  but  I  told  him  it  would  be  only 
a  bother.  I  tell  you,  Mr.  Roosevelt  is  a  nervy  man.  I  shall  never 
drive  over  that  dark  road  again  without  seeming  to  hear  him  say, 
'Push  along  !  Hurry  up!  Go  faster  P  That  is  the  simple  tale 
of  a  ride  that  is  destined  to  be  historic. 

ANXIOUSLY  AWAITING  HIS  ARRIVAL. 

During  the  time  that  "  Mike  "  Cronin  was  swinging  through 
mountain  defiles  the  little  group  of  watchers  at  the  North  Creek 
station  grew  more  anxious,  as  further  news  from  the  on-flying 
President  was  now  shut  off.  '  Eagerly  they  watched  the  waves  of 
light  creep  up  the  eastern  sky,  and  guesses  were  made  as  to  the 
probable  hour  of  arrival,  but  they  all  proved  at  least  an  hour 
too  late,  for  "Mike"  Cronin  is  a  veritable  Jehu,  and  the  Presi- 
dent's eager  anxiety  caused  a  quick  and  tireless  response.  Some 
of  the  villagers  began  to  stir  about,  and  each  one  of  those  who 
had  kept  vigil  through  the  night  stood  with  eyes  strained  upon 
the  turn  in  the  road  where  the  President  was  soon  to  appear. 

At  length,  with  a  simultaneous  cry  of  "There  he  comes!"  the 
blacks  swept  in  sight  and  fairly  flew  to  the  platform  steps.  With 
one  bound  Mr.  Roosevelt  was  on  the  ground.  With  another  he 
was  on  the  platform  receiving  the  greetings  of  his  private  secre- 
tary, Loeb,  who,  in  low  and  hurried  tones  gave  him  his  first  news 
of  President  McKinley's  death.  The  anxious  face  at  once  grew 
grave  and  sad.  Then  he  gave  the  correspondent  in  waiting  a 
cordial  hand  grasp.  Another  handshake  with  Station  Agent 
Campbell  and  he  rushed  into  his  private  car. 

Superinten4ent  Hammond  waved  his  hand  for  the  start  and 
followed  his  distinguished  guest.  Secretary  Loeb  and  the  con- 
ductor also  stepped  aboard.  Nobody  else  was  allowed  on  the 
train.  The  veteran  engine  driver  pulled  the  throttle,  and  the 
party  vanished  in  the  mist  rising  from  the  Hudson,  here  a  mere 
ribbon  of  silver  shining  in  the  growing  light. 


OUR    NEW   PRESIDENT,  471 

Swiftly  they  flew  along  the  bank  of  this  classic  stream,  banks 
of  vapor  still  sleeping  in  the  lowlands,  and  the  far  summits  of  the 
green  sloped  mountains  glowing  in  the  beams  of  the  morning 
sun,  still  concealed  behind  them.  On  they  sped,  never  pausing 
at  the  villages  still  wrapped  in  slumber,  past  Luzerne,  Corinth, 
Saratoga,  without  rest,  until  Albany  was  reached,  the  great  dome 
of  its  towering  capitol  doubtless  calling  up  strange  dreams  and 
memories  in  the  mind  of  the  nation's  new  Chief  Magistrate. 

The  coming  of  the  new  President  at  Buffalo,  the  incidents 
that  filled  his  life  between  i  o'clock  in  the  afternoon  and  the  time 
he  retired,  were  of  the  most  momentous  and  impressive  character. 
A  special  train  whirled  him  from  the  wilderness  of  the  Adirondacks 
to  tha  deathbed  of  the  President  within  the  short  space  of  nine 
hours.  The  train  consisted  of  an  engine  and  two  cars,  and  was 
drawn  up  at  the  platform  at  North  Creek,  on  the  eastern  slope  of 
Adirondack  range,  at  5  o'clock  in  the  morning. 

THE  LIGHTNING  TRAIN. 

As  soon  as  Mr.  Roosevelt  was  aboard,  the  engineer,  with 
instructions  to  make  the  run  of  his  life  to  Albany,  pulled  the 
throttle  wide  open  and  the  train  sprang  out  of  the  dawn  into  a 
stretch  of  track  104  miles  long. 

Mr.  Roosevelt's  only  traveling  companion  was  his  secretary, 
Mr.  Loeb.  Albany  was  reached  at  8.04  o'clock.  With  a  pause 
only  long  enough  to  change  engines  the  special  pulled  out  of  the 
Albany  depot  at  lightning  speed.  The  curtains  of  his  car  were 
drawn.  No  railroad  train  ever  made  the  aine  between  Albany 
and  Syracuse  that  the  Roosevelt  special  did.  Syracuse  was 
reached  at  10  o'clock.  The  special  sped  through  Rochester  and 
passed  a  crowd  of  nearly  50,000  people,  at  12.08.  At  1.38  o'clock 
it  pulled  into  the  Buffalo  depot,  having  broken  every  record  for  a 
run  between  Albany  and  that  city. 

General  Roe  and  Mr.  Wilcox  were  waiting  for  the  Vice- 
President,  who  stepped  briskly  from  the  train.  He  clutched  the 
arm  of  Mr.  Wilcox  and  was  guided  through  the  crowd  of  3000 
people  out  of  the  depot  to  the  sidewalk,  where  a  closed  carriage 


472  OUR    NEW   PRESIDENT. 

was  awaiting  him.     Oil  the  box  of  the  carriage  was  a  coachman 
in  blue  and  white  livery. 

As  the  Vice-President  and  his  companions  came  out  of  the 
depot  three  men  sprang  alertly  to  their  sides.  They  were  secret 
service  detectives,  instructed  not  to  be  five  feet  from  the  Vice- 
President  until  further  orders.  As  soon  as  the  Vice-President, 
Secretary  of  War  and  Mr.  Wilcox  had  entered  the  carriage,  the 
door  was  slammed  and  it  dashed  through  the  crowd. 

Ten  feet  behind  it  was  another  carriage,  containing  the  three 
secret  service  men.  On  either  side  of  it  were  two  mounted 
policemen.  Following  the  carriage  containing  the  detectives  was 
a  detail  of  the  signal  corps  of  the  National  Guard,  brilliant  in 
trappings  of  blue  and  gold,  mounted  on  spirited  horses  and  with 
sabres  and  chains  clanking  in  accompaniment  to  the  hoof  beats 
of  the  horses. 

THROUGH  THE  SILENT  THRONG. 

The  cavalcade  swept  through  Exchange  Place  into  Main 
street,  which  was  choked  with  people.  There  were  no  cheers,  no 
swinging  of  hats  or  waving  of  handkerchiefs.  The  Vice-Presideut 
was  engaged  in  earnest  conversation  with  Mr.  Wilcox. 

As  the  carriage  drew  up  in  front  of  the  Wilcox  residence,  on 
Delaware  avenue,  there  were  5000  people  gathered  at  the  inter- 
section of  Allen  and  North  streets.  In  the  house  President 
Roosevelt  found  waiting  for  him  Mr.  Milburn,  Mr.  Scatcherd, 
Secretary  of  War  Root,  Secretary  Long  and  Postmaster-General 
Smith.  He  changed  his  clothing  and  partook  of  a  light 
luncheon. 

When  he  came  to  resume  his  headgear  he  discovered  that 
he  had  not  brought  a  silk  hat  with  him,  so  Mr.  Scatcherd,  whose 
head  is  the  same  size  as  that  of  Mr.  Roosevelt,  sent  to  his  house 
for  one.  The  President  wore  that  throughout  the  day.  Ten 
minutes  later  he  entered  his  carriage  to  go  to  the  Milburn  house. 
As  Mr.  Roosevelt  and  Mr.  Wilcox  stepped  into  the  carriage  Mr. 
Roosevelt  discovered  that  the  signal  corps  was  drawn  up  on  either 
side  of  the  street,  forming  a  cordon  through  which  his  carriage 
was  to  pass. 


OUR    NEW   PRESIDENT.  473 

The  Vice-President  hesitated  a  minute  and  then  got  into  the 
carriage,  but  as  the  militia  started  to  follow  he  leaned  out  of  the 
window  and  said  something  to  the  coachman.  The  coachman 
pulled  up  his  horses.  The  Vice-President  turned,  and,  discerning 
Lieutenant  Colonel  Chapin,  who  had  been  detailed  to  provide  a 
military  escort  for  him,  signalled  for  him  to  come  up.  The  Vice- 
President  leaned  far  out  of  the  carriage  and  said,  with  manifest 
displeasure  :  "  Colonel,  tell  your  men  that  I  don't  want  any  escort, 
I  only  needed  two  men — two  policemen  will  do.  I  desire  the 
military  escort  to  remain  here." 

"  All  right,  Mr.  President,"  said  Colonel  Chapin,  saluting. 

"  Go  on,"  said  the  Vice-President  to  the  coachman  of  his 
carriage.  The  coachman  whipped  up  his  horses.  The  carriage 
had  proceeded  about  twenty  feet  when  the  Vice-President  leaned  out 
of  the  window  again.  His  attention  had  been  attracted  by  the 
rattle  of  hoofs  following  him.  He  thought  the  militia  was  dis- 
obeying orders.  He  discovered  it  was  a  detail  of  mounted  police 
that  had  been  furnished  by  the  city. 

DOES  NOT  WANT  ANY  ESCORT. 

"  Hold  on,"  he  called  to  his  coachman.  Then,  turning  to 
the  sergeant,  riding  at  the  head  of  the  police  detail,  he  said  : 
"Sergeant,  I  do  not  want  any  escort  to  the  Milburn  house.  Tell 
your  men  to  stay  here."  The  sergeant  saluted  and  held  his  men 
back. 

"Go  on,"  said  the  Vice-President.  The  policemen  turned 
back,  and  the  carriage,  followed  by  another  vehicle  containing  the 
Secret  Service  detectives,  dashed  up  the  avenue,  which  was  lined 
deep  with  people.  As  the  Vice-President  alighted  from  the  car- 
riage at  the  Milburn  mansion  a  dozen  photographers  aimed  their 
cameras  at  him,  but  he  threw  his  arm  up  to  prevent  them  catching 
his  face. 

The  President  after  the  meeting  of  the  Cabinet  saw  a  few 
personal  friends  and  then  putting  on  his  hat  said  to  Secretary 
Root :  "  Let  us  take  a  little  walk  ;  it  will  do  us  both  good."  Sec- 
retary Root  assented  and  they  walked  out  on  the  porch. 


474  OUR    NEW   PRESIDENT, 

His  host,  Mr.  Ansley  Wilcox  said  :  "  Shan't  I  go  a^^ig  with 
you  ?  "  He  replied,  "  No,  I  am  going  to  take  a  short  walk  up  the 
street  with  Secretary  Root  and  will  return  again."  When  he  got 
down  to  the  foot  of  the  walk  a  couple  of  policemen  and  a  couple  of 
detectives  in  citizens'  clothes  started  to  follow  him.  He  turned 
and  told  his  secretary  to  tell  them  that  he  did  not  desire  any- 
protection.  "  I  do  not  want  to  estalish  the  precedent  of  going 
about  guarded." 

The  policemen  and  detectives  touched  their  hats,  but  before 
he  had  gone  a  hundred  yards  two  of  them  were  walking  just 
behind  him  and  two  of  them  were  following  him  on  the 
other  side  of  the  street.  The  two  distinguished  men  attracted 
but  little  attention  until  they  got  near  the  police  lines  on  Dela- 
ware avenue,  when,  as  the  President  stopped  to  shake  hands  and 
say  good-bye  to  Secretary  Root,  some  of  the  crowd  recognized  him 
and  he  was  surrounded.  The  police  drove  the  crowd  back  and  the 
President,  when  he  found  that  he  could  not  help  attracting  atten- 
tion, said  good-bye  to  Secretary  Root  and  returned  to  the  house 
alone. 

MR.  ROOSEVELT  TAKES  THE  OATH  OF  OFFICE. 

Hon.  Theodore  Roosevelt  was  sworn  in  as  President  of  the 
United  States  at  3.36  o'clock  on  the  afternoon  of  Saturday,  Sep- 
tember i4th.  Standing  in  a  low-ceiled,  narrow  room  in  the  quaint 
old  mansion  occupied  by  Ansley  Wilcox,  in  the  fashionable  part 
of  Delaware  avenue,  the  aristocratic  thoroughfare  of  Buffalo,  Mr. 
Roosevelt  swore  to  administer  the  laws  of  the  Government  of 
which  he  is  now  the  head.  He  stood  erect,  holding  his  right 
hand  high  above  his  head.  His  massive  shoulders  were  thrown 
well  back,  as,  with  his  head  inclined  a  little  forward,  he  repeated 
the  form  of  the  oath  of  office  in  clear,  distinct  tones,  that  fell 
impressively  upon  the  ears  of  the  forty-three  persons  grouped 
about  the  room. 

His  face  was  a  study  in  earnestness  and  determination,  as  he 
uttered  the  words  which  made  him  President  of  the  United  States. 
His  face  was  much  paler  than  it  was  wont  to  be,  and  his  eyes, 
though  bright  and  steady,  gleamed  mistily  through  his  big-bowed 


OUR  NEW    PRESIDENT.  475 

gold  spectacles.  His  attire  was  sombre  and  modest.  A  well-fit- 
ting worsted  frock  coat  draped  his  athletic  figure  almost  to  the 
knees.  His  trousers  were  dark  gray,  with  pinstripes.  A  thin 
skein  of  golden  chain  looped  from  the  two  lower  pockets  of  his 
waistcoat.  While  he  was  waiting  for  the  ceremony  he  toyed  with 
this  chain  with  his  right  hand. 

The  place  selected  for  the  ceremony  of  taking  the  oath  was 
the  library  of  Mr.  Wilcox's  house,  a  rather  small  room,  but  pic- 
turesque, the  heavy  oak  trimmings  and  the  massive  bookcases 
giving  it  somewhat  the  appearance  of  a  legal  den.  A  pretty  bay 
window  with  stained  glass  and  heavy  hangings  formed  a  back- 
ground, and  against  this  the  President  took  his  position. 

Judge  Hazel  stood  near  the  President  in  the  bay  window,  and 
the  latter  showed  his  extreme  nervousness  by  plucking  at  the 
lapel  of  his  long  frock  coat  and  nervously  tapping  the  hardwood 
floor  with  his  heel.  He  stepped  over  once  to  Secretary  Root,  and 
for  about  five  minutes  they  conversed  earnestly.  The  question 
at  issue  was  whether  the  President  should  first  sign  an  oath  of 
office  and  then  swear  in  or  whether  he  should  swear  in  first  and 
sign  the  document  in  the  case  after. 

SECRETARY  ROOT  BREAKS  DOWN. 

At  precisely  3.32  o'clock  Secretary  Root  ceased  his  conver- 
sation with  the  President,  and,  stepping  back,  while  an  absolute 
hush  fell  upon  every  one  in  the  room,  said  in  an  almost  inaudible 
voice  : 

"Mr.  Vice-President,  I "  Then  his  voice  broke,  and  for 

fully  two  minutes  the  tears  came  down  his  face  and  his  lips 
quivered,  so  that  he  could  not  continue  his  utterances.  There 
were  sympathetic  tears  from  those  about  him,  and  two  great 
drops  ran  down  either  cheek  of  the  successor  of  William 
McKinley.  Mr.  Root's  chin  was  on  his  breast.  Suddenly  throw- 
ing back  his  head,  as  if  with  an  effort,  he  continued  in  broken 
voice  : 

"  I  have  been  requested,  on  behalf  of  the  Cabinet  of  the  late 
President,  at  least  those  who  are  present  in  Buffalo,  all  except 


476  OUR   MEW    PRESIDENT. 

two,  to  request  that  for  reasons  of  weight  affecting  the  affairs  of 
government,  you  should  proceed  to  take  the  constitutional  oath 
of  office  of  President  of  the  United  States." 

Judge  Hazel  had  stepped  to  the  rear  of  the  President,  and 
Mr.  Roosevelt,  coming  closer  to  Secretary  Root,  said,  in  a  voice 
that  at  first  wavered,  but  finally  came  deep  and  strong,  while,  as 
if  to  control  his  nervousness,  he  held  firmly  to  the  lapel  of  his 
coat  with  his  right  hand  : 

"  I  shall  take  the  oath  at  once  in  accordance  with  your  re- 
quest, and  in  this  hour  of  deep  and  terrible  national  bereavement 
I  wish  to  state  that  it  shall  be  my  aim  to  continue  absolutely 
unbroken  the  policy  of  President  McKinley  for  the  peace  and 
prosperity  and  honor  of  our  beloved  country.'1 

A  HUSH  LIKE  THAT  OF  DEATH. 

The  President  stepped  farther  into  the  bay  window,  and 
Judge  Hazel,  taking  up  the  constitutional  oath  of  office,  which 
had  been  prepared  on  parchment,  asked  the  President  to  raise  his 
right  hand  and  repeat  it  after  him.  There  was  a  hush  like  death  in 
the  room  as  the  Judge  read  a  few  words  at  a  time,  and  the  Presi- 
dent, in  a  strong  voice  and  without  a  tremor,  and  with  his  raised 
hand  as  steady  as  if  carved  from  marble,  repeated  it  after  him. 

"And  thus  I  swear,"  he  ended  it. 

The  hand  dropped  by  the  side,  the  chin  for  an  instant  rested 
on  the  breast,  and  the  silence  remained  unbroken  for  a  couple  of 
minutes,  as  though  the  new  President  of  the  United  States  was 
offering  silent  prayer. 

Judge  Hazel  broke  the  silence,  saying  :  "  Mr.  President, 
please  attach  your  signature."  And  the  President,  turning  to  a 
small  table  near-by,  wrote  "Theodore  Roosevelt"  at  the  bottom 
of  the  document  in  a  firm  hand. 

"  I  should  like  to  see  the  members  of  the  Cabinet  a  few 
moments  after  the  others  retire,"  said  the  President,  and  this 
was  the  signal  for  the  score  of  the  people,  who  had  been  favored 
by  witnessing  the  ceremony,  to  retire. 

As  they  turned  to  go   the  President  said :    "  I   will   shake 


OUR    NEW    PRESIDENT.  477 

hands  with  you  people,  gladly,"  and,  with  something  of  his  old 
sniile  returning,  he  first  shook  hands  with  the  members  of  the 
Cabinet  present,  then  Senator  Depew  and  finally  with  a  few 
guests  and  newspaper  men. 

Those  present  in  the  room  were  Secretary  of  the  Navy  Long, 
Secretary  of  Agriculture  Wilson,  Secretary  of  the  Interior  Hitch- 
cock, Ansley  Wilcox,  his  personal  friend  ;  William  Loeb,  private 
secretary  of  Mr.  Roosevelt ;  Secretary  of  War  Root,  Post- 
master General  Smith,  Senator  Depew,  Dr.  Mann  and  Dr.  Stock- 
ton and  twenty-four  representatives  of  American  and  English 
newspapers,  who  had  been  invited  by  Mr.  Roosevelt  to  witness 
the  ceremony.  In  a  doorway  stood  Mrs.  Wilcox,  Miss  Wilcox, 
Mrs.  John  G.  Milburn,  Mrs.  Carlton  Sprague,  Mrs.  Dr.  Mann 
and  Mrs.  Charles  Carrey. 

INTIMATE  FRIEND  OF  THE  DEAD  RULER. 

The  first  man  to  enter  the  house  after  the  ceremony  attracted 
almost  as  much  attention  as  the  new  President.  It  was  Senator 
Mark  Hanna,  the  most  intimate  friend  of  the  dead  ruler.  The 
meeting  between  Senator  Hanna  and  the  new  President  was 
cordjal,  though  naturally  solemn.  The  Senator  did  not  look  well, 
his  faee  was  pale  and  furrowed  with  gray  lines.  His  eyes  lacked 
the  steady  gleam  which  politicians  have  known  for  many  years. 
He  leaned  heavily  on  a  stout  cane. 

President  Roosevelt  descried  Mr.  Hanna  before  he  had 
mounted  the  steps  of  the  house.  He  came  alertly  and  expec- 
tantly through  the  crowd  of  well  wishers  surrounding  him  and 
held  out  both  hands.  "  How  do  you  do,  Senator,  I  am  glad  to 
see  you,"  he  said,  in  tones  rather  modified  from  his  usual 
resonant  enunciation. 

The  lifelong  friend  of  the  dead  President  had  his  soft  gray 
slouch  hat  in  his  right  hand.  He  transferred  it  to  his  left,  which 
held  his  cane,  and  holding  out  his  right  hand,  he  looked  steadily 
at  the  new  national  chieftain.  "  Mr.  President,"  he  said,  and 
those  who  were  standing  within  a  few  feet  thought  they  detected 
a  quaver  in  his  voice.  "  Mr.  President,  1  wish  you  success  and  a 


478  OUR   NEW    PRESIDENT. 

prosperous  administration  ;  I  trnst  that  you  will  command  me  if 
I  can  be  of  service." 

The  two  men,  easily  the  two  most  interesting  figures  in  the 
great  tragedy,  clasped  hands  for  nearly  a  minute,  but  did  not  ex- 
change another  word.  The  President  walked  to  the  door  beside 
the  limping  figure  of  the  Ohio  Senator,  who,  as  he  passed  dowi: 
the  stone  walk  faced  the  crowd  and  received  many  hearty  hand- 
shakes, and  heard  many  words  of  sympathy,  but  it  is  doubtful  if 
he  appreciated  them.  He  looked  straight  ahead  as  he  went,  and 
extended  his  hand  in  the  most  perfunctory  manner. 

As  he  entered  the  carriage  waiting  for  him  and  was  driven 
away  his  eyes  were  bent  on  the  floor  of  the  carriage,  and  he  seemed 
to  be  thinking  deeply.  For  an  hour  after  the  ceremony  which  had 
made  him  President,  Mr.  Roosevelt  stood  in  the  drawing  room  of 
the  Wilcox  mansion  and  heard  expressions  of  good  will.  These 
were  varied  in  form  and  he  voiced  his  thanks  most  heartily. 

FERVENT  BLESSINGS  ON  ROOSEVELT. 

"  God  bless  you,  Mr.  President,"  "  I  wish  you  success,  Mr. 
President,  the  country  will  pray  for  your  success,  Mr.  President," 
were  the  customary  forms  of  salutation  and  congratulation.  A 
correspondent,  who  stood  just  back  of  Mr.  Roosevelt,  did  not  hear 
the  words  "I  congratulate  you,"  used  once.  There  could  be  no 
congratulations  over  President  McKinley's  death. 

When  all  of  the  persons  who  had  witnessed  the  ceremony  had 
left  the  house  and  the  last  of  the  callers  had  gone,  the  President 
retired  to  the  apartments  reserved  for  his  use  during  his  stay  in 
Buffalo.  The  President  passed  the  evening  rather  quietly  at  Mr. 
Wilcox's  home,  dining  quite  late.  Governor  B.  B.  Odell,  of  New 
York  ;  Congressman  Lucius  Littauer,  of  New  York,  and  William 
Warden,  of  Buffalo,  called  during  the  evening,  as  did  also  Colonel 
Russell  Harrison.  The  President,  while  affable,  showed  some 
effects  of  the  long  journey  and  the  day's  strain.  However,  he 
found  time  to  have  a  chat  with  Governor  Odell.  The  Governor 
told  the  President  that  he  intended  issuing  a  proclamation  concern- 
ing the  President's  death,  and  discussed  the  tenor  of  it.  President 


OUR    NEW    PRESIDENT.  472 

Roosevelt  said  that  he,  too,  would  issue  a  proclamation,  and  that 
he  had  put  it  in  the  hands  of  Secretary  Cortelyou  to  prepare  as  to 
form,  after  preparing  the  substance. 

At  a  meeting  of  the  Cabinet  in  the  afternoon,  President 
Roosevelt  requested  that  the  members  retain  their  positions,  at 
least  for  the  present,  and  they  promised  that  they  would  do  so. 
He  also  received  assurances  that  Secretaries  Hay  and  Gage,  who 
were  absent,  would  remain  for  the  time  being. 

The  first  official  act  of  President  Roosevelt  was  the  issuing 
of  the  following  proclamation,  the  appropriateness  and  felicitous 
expression  of  which  could  not  be  improved  : 

PROCLAMATION   BY  THE  PRESIDENT. 

"By  the  President  of  the  United  States  of  America,  a 
proclamation  : 

"A  terrible  bereavement  has  befallen  our  people.  The  Presi- 
dent of  the  United  States  has  been  struck  down  ;  a  crime  com- 
mitted not  only  against  the  Chief  Magistrate,  but  against  every 
law-abiding  and  liberty-loving  citizen. 

"  President  McKinley  crowned  a  life  of  largest  love  for  his 
fellowmen,  of  most  earnest  endeavor  for  their  welfare,  by  a  death 
of  Christian  fortitude ;  and  both  the  way  in  which  he  lived  his 
life  and  the  way  in  which,  in  the  supreme  hour  of  trial,  he  met 
his  death,  will  remain  forever  a  precious  heritage  of  our  people. 

"  It  is  meet  that  we,  as  a  nation,  express  our  abiding  love  and 
reverence  for  his  life,  our  deep  sorrow  for  his  untimely  death. 

"Now,  therefore,  I,  Theodore  Roosevelt,  President  of  the 
United  States  of  America,  do  appoint  Thursday  next,  September 
19,  the  day  in  which  the  body  of  the  dead  President  will  be  laid 
in  its  last  earthly  resting  place,  as  a  day  of  mourning  and  prayer 
throughout  the  United  States.  I  earnestly  recommend  all  the 
people  to  assemble  in  their  respective  places  of  divine  worship, 
there  to  bow  down  in  submission  to  the  will  -of  Almighty  God, 
and  to  pay  out  of  full  hearts  their  homage  of  love  and  reverence 
to  the  great  and  good  President,  whose  death  has  smitten  the 
nation  with  bitter  grief. 


480  OUR    NEW    PRESIDENT, 

"  In  witness  whereof  I  have  hereunto  set  my  hand  and 
caused  the  seal  of  the  United  States  to  be  affixed. 

"Done  at  the  city  of  Washington,  the  I4th  day  of  September, 
A.D.,  one  thousand  nine  hundred  and  one,  and  of  the  Inde- 
pendence of  the  United  States  the  one  hundred  and  twenty-sixth. 

"(SEAL.)  THEODORE  ROOSEVELT 

"  By  the  President, 

"JOHN  HAY,  Secretary  of  State." 


CHAPTER  XXVI. 

The  Hero  of  San  Juan — President  Roosevelt's  Active  Life- 
Ancestry  and  Education — His  Strong  Personality— A 
Man  of  Deep  Convictions  and  Great  Courage. 

Presidents  die,  but  our  government  continues  with  unim- 
paired vitality.  Stocks  fall,  but  values  remain.  The  govern- 
ment of  this  Republic  is  based  on  the  bedrock  of  the  Constitution, 
and  has  in  it,  we  fondly  hope,  the  principle  of  immortality.  A 
stricken  nation  weeps  for  its  beloved  President,  William  McKin- 
ley,  but  its  grief  has  in  it  no  element  of  serious  doubt  or  appre- 
hension for  the  future.  There  is  no  interregnum.  Theodore 
Roosevelt  is  President  of  the  United  States. 

No  man  ever  came  to  the  President's  office  so  young  as  he, 
bnt  for  twenty  years  he  has  been  in  the  public  eye.  He  has  had 
more  political  experience  and  has  been  more  in  touch  with  public 
events  than  a  large  number  of  our  Presidents  previous  to  their 
inauguration.  He  has  been  all  his  life  a  student  -of  our  history 
and  of  public  questions.  He  is  a  man  of  high  standards  and 
strong  convictions  and  intense  patriotism. 

His  impetuous  zeai  and  earnestness  in  whatever  he  under- 
takes has  been  heretofore  one  of  the  main  sources  of  his  strength 
and  political  success.  Tempered  and  sobered  by  the  grave 
responsibilities  of  his  new  position,  these  qualities,  wisely  directed, 
will  make  his  administration  a  power  for  good,  full  of  solid 
achievement  that  makes  for  the  peace  and  happiness  of  the 

people. 

While,  therefore,  we  mourn  with  unaffected  grief  for  our  be- 
loved and  honored  President,  William  McKinley,  there  is  no  cause 
for  alarm  or  uneasiness  for  the  future.  In  the  language  of  President 
McKinley,  in  one  of  his  public  addresses,  "  The  structure  of  the 
fathers  stands  secure  upon  the  foundations  on  which  they  raised 
it,  and  is  to-day,  as  it  has  been  in  the  years  past,  and  as  it  will  be 
in  the  years  to  come,  the  Government  of  the  people,  by  the  people, 

31  481 


482  SKETCH   OF  PRESIDENT   ROOSEVELT. 

for  the  people.  Be  not  disturbed.  There  is  no  fear  for  the 
Republic." 

Theodore  Roosevelt  was  born  in  New  York  city  on  October 
27,  1858,  and  comes  from  a  family  that  for  generations  has  been 
noted  for  its  wealth,  social  position,  high  intelligence,  disinterested 
public  spirit,  general  usefulness  and  philanthropy. 

He  is  a  Knickerbocker  of  the  Knickerbockers,  being  seventh 
in  descent  from  Klaas  Martensen  van  Roosevelt,  who,  with  his 
wife,  Jannetje  Samuels-Thomas,  emigrated  from  the  Netherlands 
to  New  Amsterdam  in  1649,  and  became  one  of  the  most  promi- 
nent and  prosperous  burghers  of  that  settlement.  For  two  and 
a  half  centuries  the  descendants  of  this  couple  have  nourished  in 
and  near  the  city  of  New  York,  maintaining  unimpaired  the  high 
social  standing  assumed  at  the  beginning,  and  by  thrift,  industry 
and  enterprise  adding  materially  to  the  wealth  acquired  by  inheri- 
tance. With  the  special  opportunities  for  distinction  afforded  by 
the  Revolution,  a  number  of  them  came  into  marked  prominence. 

CELEBRATED  ANCESTORS. 

Just  previous  to  that  struggle,  and  during  its  earlier  years, 
Isaac  Roosevelt  was  a  member  of  the  New  York  Provincial  Cou  - 
gress.  Later  he  sat  in  the  State  Legislature,  and  for  several 
years  was  a  member  of  the  New  York  City  Council.  For  quite 
a  long  period  he  was  President  of  the  Bank  of  New  York.  Jacobus 
J.  Roosevelt,  great-grandfather  of  the  subject  of  this  sketch,  who 
was  born  in  1759,  gave  his  services  without  compensation  as  com- 
missary during  the  War  for  Independence.  A  brother  of  this 
Revolutionary  patriot,  Nicolas  J.  Roosevelt,  born  in  New  York 
city  in  1767,  was  an  inventor  of  ability,  and  an  associate  of  Robert 
L.  Livingston,  John  Stevens  and  Robert  Fulton  in  developing  the 
steamboat  and  steam  navigation. 

The  grandfather  of  Governor  Roosevelt,  Cornelius  van  Shaick 
Roosevelt,  born  in  New  York  city  in  1794,  was  an  importer  of 
hardware  and  plate  glass,  and  one  of  the  five  richest  men  in  the 
town.  He  was  one  of  the  founders  of  the  Chemical  Bank.  One 
of  his  brothers,  James  J.  Roosevelt,  was  a  warm  friend  and  ardent 


SKETCH   OF  PRESIDENT  ROOSEVELT.  433 

supporter  of  Andrew  Jackson;  served  in  the  New  York  Legisla- 
ture and  in  Congress,  and  was  a  Justice  of  the  Supreme  Court  of 
New  York  from  1851  to  1859. 

A  cousin,  James  Henry  Roosevelt,  was  distinguished  for  his 
philanthropies,  and  left  an  estate  of  a  million  dollars — which,  by 
good  management  was  doubled  in  value — to  found  the  famous 
Roosevelt  Hospital  in  New  York  city.  Cornelius  V.  S.  Roosevelt 
married  Mary  Barnhill,  of  Philadelphia.  Of  their  six  sons,  the 
sole  survivor  is  the  Hon.  Robert  B.  Roosevelt,  one  of  New  York's 
most  distinguished  citizens,  who  has  served  in  Congress  and  also 
as  a  United  States  Minister  to  the  Netherlands. 

Theodore,  another  son,  born  in  New  York  City,  and  deceased 
in  1878,  was  the  father  of  President  Theodore  Roosevelt.  He 
married  Martha  Bulloch,  who  with  four  of  their  children,  sur- 
vived him.  Theodore  Roosevelt,  Sr.,  continued  in  the  business 
founded  by  his  father,  and  became  a  controlling  factor  in  the  plate 
glass  trade.  He  greatly  augmented  the  family  fortune,  and  at  his 
death  was  reputed  a  millionaire. 

WEALTH  NO  BAR  TO  ACTIVITY. 

Theodore  Roosevelt,  therefore,  was  born  to  comparative  wealth, 
but  did  not  let  that  deter  him  from  a  life  of  activity.  After  grad- 
uating from  Harvard,  in  1880,  he  spent  some  time  in  European 
travel,  climbing  the  Alps  and  tramping  through  the  country  dis- 
tricts of  Germany.  On  his  return  home,  he  began  the  study  of 
law,  but  plunged  at  once  into  politics,  and  in  1881  was  elected  to 
the  State  Assembly. 

By  re-election  he  continued  in  that  body  during  the  sessions 
of  1883  and  1884.  He  introduced  important  reform  measures, 
and  his  entire  legislative  career  was  made  conspicuous  by  the 
courage  and  zeal  with  which  he  assailed  political  abuses. 

In  1886  Mr.  Roosevelt  was  the  Republican  candidate  for 
Mayor  against  Abram  S.  Hewitt,  United  Democracy,  and  Henry 
George,  United  Labor.  Mr.  Hewitt  was  elected  by  about  22,000 
plurality.  In  1889  he  was  appointed  by  President  Harrison  a 
member  of  the  United  States  Civil  Service  Commission.  His 


484  SKETCH   OF   PRESIDENT  ROOSEVELT. 

ability  and  rugged  honesty  in  the  administration  of  the  affairs  of 
that  office  greatly  helped  to  strengthen  his  hold  on  popular 
regard. 

He  continuedin  thatoffice  until  May  i,  1895,  when  he  resigned 
to  accept  the  office  of  Police  Commissioner  from  Mayor  Strong. 
Through  his  fearlessness  and  administrative  ability  as  President 
of  the  Board,  the  demoralized  police  force  was  greatly  improved. 
Early  in  1897  ne  was  called  by  the  President  to  give  up  his  New 
York  office  to  become  Assistant  Secretary  of  the  Navy.  Then 
again  his  energy  and  quick  mastery  of  detail  had  much  to  do  with 
the  speedy  equipment  of  the  navy  for  its  brilliant  feats  in  the  war 

with  Spain. 

CRAVED  SERVICE  IN  THE  FIELD. 

But  soon  after  the  outbreak  of  the  war  his  patriotism  and 
love  of  active  life  led  him  to  leave  the  comparative  quiet  of  his 
government  office  for  service  in  the  field.  As  a  lieutenant-colonel 
of  volunteers  he  recruited  the  First  Volunteer  Cavalry,  popularly 
known  as  the  Rough  Riders.  The  men  were  gathered  largely 
from  the  cowboys  of  the  Wes't  and  Southwest,  but  also  numbered 
many  college-bred  men  of  the  East. 

In  the  beginning  he  was  second  in  command,  with  the  rank 
of  lieutenant  colonel,  Dr.  Leonard  Wood  being  colonel.  But 
at  the  close  of  the  war  the  latter  was  a  brigadier  general,  and 
Roosevelt  was  colonel  in  command.  Since  no  horses  were  trans- 
ported to  Cuba,  this  regiment,  together  with  the  rest  of  the  cav- 
alry, was  obliged  to  serve  on  foot. 

The  regiment  distinguished  itself  in  the  Santiago  campaign, 
and  Colonel  Roosevelt  became  famous  for  his  bravery  in  leading 
the  charge  up  San  Juan  Hill  on  July  i.  He  was  an  efficient 
officer,  and  won  the  love  and  admiration  of  his  men.  His  care 
for  them  was  shown  by  the  circulation  of  the  famous  "round 
robin,"  which  he  wrote,  protesting  against  keeping  the  army 
longer  in  Cuba. 

This  violation  of  official  rule  deeply  angered  some  of  those 
in  power  at  Washington,  and  there  was  a  talk  of  visiting  dis- 
pleasure on  his  head.  But  Roosevelt  was  by  this  time  in  such 


SKETCH    OF   PRESIDENT   ROOSEVELT.  485 

high  favor  with  the  whole  people  that  nothing  was  done  beyond 
the  publication  of  a  letter  by  Secretary  of  War  Alger  reflecting 
on  Roosevelt,  which  was  received  with  general  denunciation,  and 
Roosevelt  was,  instead,  commissioned  colonel  on  July  n. 

Colonel  Roosevelt  was  nominated  as  Governor  of  New  York 
State  on  September  27,  1898,  receiving  753  votes,  as  againt  214 
for  Governor  Frank  S.  Black.  His  Democratic  opponent  was 
Judge  Augustus  Van  Wyck.  Colonel  Roosevelt  entered  into  the 
campaign  with  characteristic  enthusiasm,  and  visited  nearly 
every  part  of  the  State.  He  drew  to  his  support  the  majority  of 
the  Independent  Republicans  and  many  of  the  Democrats,  and 
carried  New  York  State  by  a  plurality  of  18,079. 

A  STRONG  CHARACTER. 

He  brought  to  the  new  position  the  same  force  and  personality 
that  he  had  displayed  in  everything  he  had  previously  under, 
taken.  Although  classed  in  some  particulars  as  an  Independent 
Republican,  he  did  not  totally  ignore  the  machine.  Nor  did  he 
invariably  follow  its  advice.  He  consulted  all  factions  and  fol- 
lowed what  seemed  to  him  to  be  the  best  course  for  the  State. 
He  maintained  his  reputation  for  independence,  yet  held  the  re- 
spect of  the  greater  part  of  the  machine  managers. 

As  the  Presidential  year  of  1900  approached,  it  became  ap- 
parent that  there  was  a  popular  demand  that  Roosevelt  should 
have  a  place  on  the  Republican  ticket.  He  at  first  refused  to 
listen  to  any  such  suggestion,  declaring  that  he  much  preferred 
to  be  Governor  of  New  York,  but  was  finally  induced  to  consent 
to  the  use  of  his  name,  and  at  the  convention  held  in  this  city, 
in  June,  1900,  he  was  enthusiastically  nominated  for  Vice-Presi- 
dent.  He  went  into  the  campaign  with  his  accustomed  vigor, 
making  a  tour  of  the  country  and  speaking  at  many  places.  His 
tour  was,  in  fact,  the  one  picturesque  feature  of  an  otherwise 
rather  dull  and  uninteresting  campaign. 

After  his  election  he  spent  the  winter  quietly,  with  the 
exception  of  a  hunting  trip  in  the  Rocky  Mountains,  on  returning 
from  which  he  had  to  contradict  numerous  wild  stories  of  his 


486  SKETCH   OF   PRESIDENT   ROOSEVELT. 

alleged  exploits,  written  by  imaginative  correspondents  who  were 
never  near  his  party.  He  presided  over  the  Senate  during  the 
session  of  1901  with  dignity  and  a  comprehension  of  his  duties 
which  made  a  favorable  impression  on  that  body  and  upon  the 
country. 

In  the  midst  of  his  intensely  active  life  Mr.  Roosevelt  has 
found  time  to  do  considerable  literary  work.  The  year  after  he 
was  graduated  from  college  he  published  his  "Naval  War  of 
1812  ;"  in  1886  there  came  from  his  pen  a  "Life  of  Thomas  H. 
Benton,"  published  in  the  "American  Statesmen  Series;"  the 
following  year  he  published  a  "  Life  of  Gouverneur  Morris," 
which  was  followed  in  1888  by  his  popular  "  Ranch  Life  and 
Hunting  Trail." 

AUTHOR  OF  MANY  WORKS. 

In  1889  were  published  the  first  two  volumes  of  what  he  consid- 
ers his  greatest  work,  "The  Winning  of  the  West."  In  1890 
he  added  to  the  series  of  "Historic  Towns  "  a  "  History  of  New 
York  City."  "  Essays  on  Practical  Politics,"  published  in  1892, 
was  followed  the  next  year  by  "  The  Wilderness  Hunter,"  while 
in  1894  he  added  a  third  volume  to  his  "  Winning  of  the  West." 
In  1898  he  collected  a  volume  of  essays,  entitled  "American  Political 
Ideas."  Since  the  Spanish  war  he  has  written  a  book  on  "  The 
Rough  Riders." 

When  Theodore  Roosevelt  was  first  considered  by  the  Repub- 
lican leaders  for  the  position  of  Vice  President,  the  possibility  of 
his  succession  to  the  office  of  Chief  Magistrate  was  thoroughly 
debated,  and  it  was  resolved  that  should  he  be  called,  under  the 
organic  law  to  act  as  President  of  the  United  States  he  would  be  a 
perfectly  safe  man  for  his  party  and  for  the  people.  There  were 
those  who  feared  his  strenuosity — his  radicalism  in  certain  lines 
and  his  sturdy  insistence  on  reform  in  the  party,  but  after  fully 
considering  the  character  and  history  of  the  famous  Rough  Rider 
leader,  his  character  was  passed  and  he  was  voted  a  sound  party 
man  and  an  eligible  and  trusty  candidate. 

Roosevelt's  character  is  summed  up  pretty  well  in  this  mes 


SKETCH   OF   PRESIDENT   ROOSEVELT.  487 

sage  he  sent  a  few  years  ago  to  a  meeting  of  young  men  in  New 
York  City : 

"  First  and  foremost  be  American,  heart  and  soul,  and  go  in 
with  any  person,  heedless  of  anything  but  that  person's  qualifica- 
tions. For  myself  I'd  as  quickly  work  beside  Pat  Dugan  as  with 
the  last  descendant  of  a  patroon  ;  it  literally  makes  no  difference 
to  me  so  long  as  the  work  is  good  and  the  man  is  in  earnest.  One 
other  thing  I'd  like  to  teach  the  young  man  of  wealth.  That  he 
who  has  not  got  wealth  owes  his  first  duty  to  his  family,  but  he  who 
has  means  owes  his  first  duty  to  his  State.  It  is  ignoble  to  try  to 
heap  money  on  money.  I  would  preach  the  doctrine  of  work  to 
all,  and  to  the  men  of  wealth  the  doctrine  of  unremunerative 
work." 

NEEDS  NO  APOLOGIES. 

A  salient  point  in  the  public  and  private  career  of  Theodore 
Roosevelt  is  that  no  one  ever  had  to  apologize  for  him.  Away 
out  on.  the  northwestern  border  of  North  Dakota,  600  miles  from 
St.  Paul,  where  the  little  Missouri  winds  its  swift  way  through 
the  heart  of  the  Bad  Lands,  there  stands  the  town  of  Medora. 
There  Theodore  Roosevelt  first  put  the  eight-pointed  cross  brand 
on  his  own  cattle,  and  gave  the  outside  world  an  initial  illustra- 
tion of  what  kind  of  strenuousness  he  believed  in. 

Before  that  time  (1886-87)  ^s  personality  had  impressed  itself 
upon  college  mates  at  Columbia  and  the  small  circle  of  intimate 
friends  about  him  in  New  York  city.  But  Medora,  whether  he 
intended  it  to  be  so  or  not,  was  the  starting  point  in  his  public 
career.  The  man  who  would  "come  west"  and  not  steal  cattle 
from  his  neighbors,  who  would  "tote"  fair,  who,  bred  in  luxury, 
would  take  the  worst  as  well  as  the  best  of  ranch  life  without  a 
murmer,  was  a  novelty  to  the  press  as  well  as  the  public,  and  as 
"  cow  man  "  the  present  President  of  the  United  States  is  known. 

"  What  strong  direction  did  your  home  influence  take  in  your 
boyhood  ?  "  was  asked  Mr.  Roosevelt. 

"Why,"  he  replied,  "I  was  brought  up  with  the  constant 
injunction  to  be  active  and  industrious.  My  father — all  my 
people — held  that  no  one  had  a  right  to  merely  cumber  the 


488  SKETCH   OF    PRESIDENT   ROOSEVELT. 

earth  ;  that  the  most  contemptible  of  created  beings  is  the  man 
who  does  nothing.  I  imbibed  the  idea  that  I  must  work  hard, 
whether  at  making  money  or  whatever. 

"  The  whole  family  training  taught  me  that  I  must  be  doing, 
must  be  working — and  at  decent  work.  I  made  my  health  what 
it  is.  I  determined  to  be  strong  and  well,  and  did  everything 
to  make  myself  so.  By  the  time  I  entered  Harvard  College  I 
was  able  to  take  iny  part  in  whatever  sports  I  liked.  I  wrestled 
and  sparred  and  ran  a  great  deal  while  in  college,  and  though  I 
never  came  in  first,  I  got  more  good  out  of  the  exercise  than 
those  who  did,  because  I  immensely  enjoyed  it  and  never  injured 

myself. 

PRACTICED  WRESTLING  AND  BOXING. 

"  I  was  fond  of  wrestling  and  boxing  ;  I  think  I  was  a  good 
deal  of  a  wrestler,  and  though  I  never  won  a  championship,  yet 
more  than  once  I  won  my  trial  heats  and  got  into  the  final  round. 
I  was  captain  of  my  polo  team,  at  one  time,  but  since  I  left  college 
I  have  taken  most  of  my  exercise  in  the  'cow  country'  or  moun- 
tain hunting." 

Returning  from  the  West  he  plunged  into  politics  and  was 
thrice  chosen  to  the  New  York  Legislature,  wherein  he  became 
famous  as  a  free  lance. 

It  was  at  this  time  that  Mr.  Roosevelt  became  involved  in  a 
conflict  with  the  party  organization  and  defeated  it.  He  did  it 
so  thoroughly  that  his  own  delegates  were  sent  to  the  county, 
State  and  national  conventions  of  1884.  That  was  the  year  Jaines 
G.  Blaiiie  desired  to  be  President.  Air.  Roosevelt  escaped  the 
Elaine  contagion  and  took  the  New  York  delegation  away  from 
that  statesman.  He  formed  a  combination  between  the  Arthur 
and  Edmunds  men  and  defeated  t>e  Elaine  following. 

He  was  sent  to  the  Chicago  convention  with  Andrew  D. 
White,  George  William  Curtis  and  a  number  of  other  famous  men. 
It  may  be  written  here  that  Mr.  Roosevelt  never  left  the  Republi- 
can party,  but  he  has  always  felt  that  upon  a  question  of  principle 
he  was  bound  to  act  upon  his  own  judgment.  He  has  held  that  city 
politics  should  be  divorced  from  those  of  the  State  and  the  nation; 


SKETCH   OF   PRESIDENT   ROOSEVELT.  489 

that  politics  is  not  a  grab  game  for  spoils,  but  a  dignified,  honor- 
able science  to  be  unselfishly  pursued  ;  and  yet  he  recognizes  the 
fact  that,  in  order  to  do  good  work  in  politics  one  must  work  with 
his  party,  which  is  to  say  with  an  organization.  As  a  legislator  he 
was  a  sore  spot  to  "machine"  partisans  or  men  of  corrupt  in- 
clinations. Courageous  men  loved  him. 

While  in  the  Legislature  he  secured  the  passage  of  the 
measure  which  gave  the  Mayor  of  New  York  the  power  and 
opportunity  to  do  his  best  in  wielding  the  appointing  power  in 
connection  with  the  police  force.  Prior  to  this  the  old  Tweed 
charter  had  vested  in  the  aldermen  the  power  of  rejecting  or 
accepting  the  Mayor's  appointments.  The  Roosevelt  bill  took 
this  power  from  the  aldermen.  The  Roosevelt  investigation  of 
the  same  year  placed  the  county  clerk's  office,  which  had  been 
reaping  $82,000  a  year  in  fees,  upon  a  salary,  and  various  other 
reforms  were  effected.  In  1886  Mr.  Roosevelt  ran  for  Mayor  of 
New  York  and  polled  a  larger  proportion  of  the  total  vote  than 
was  polled  by  any  Republican  canditate  until  W.  L.  Strong  was 

elected. 

,.;.-     CIVIL  SERVICE  COMMISSIONER. 

When  General  Harrison  came  to  the  Presidency  he  appointed 
Mr.  Roosevelt  Civil  Service  Commissioner,  and  that  position  he 
held  until  he  became  Police  Commissioner  of  the  city  of  New 
York.  In  the  six  years  that  he  was  Civil  Service  Commissioner 
he  saw  the  law  applied  to  twice  as  many  offices  as  when  he  took 
the  office  ;  in  fact,  he  added  20,000  offices  to  the  scope  of  the 
reform  law.  The  law  was  also  well  executed  while  he  was  in 

office. 

From  the  Police  Commissionership  he  passed  to  the  position 
of  Assistant  Secretary  of  the  Navy,  where  he  woke  up  the  fossils, 
gave  Dewey  the  Manila  opportunity,  infused  vigor  into  the 
officialism  of  Washington,  made  some  people  dislike  him  and  a 
great  many  more  care  for  him,  and  when  war  was  threatened 
jumped  into  the  centre  of  action  with  Colonel  Leonard  S.  Wood 
and  organized  the  Rough  Riders.  They  fought  like  demons  at 
Las  Guasimas.  They  passed  on  to  Kettle  Hill,  to  San  Juan  and 


490  SKETCH   OF   PRESIDENT   ROOSEVELT. 

to  Santiago.  He  was  on  the  firing  line  always,  taking  just  what 
his  men  did,  asking  no  more.  Regular  army  officers  called  him  an 
"ideal  commander."  His  regiment  was  cared  for  as  few  were 
during  the  short  period  of  the  Spanish-American  War.  From 
Santiago  he  went  to  Camp  Wikoff,  and  thence  to  the  Governorship 
of  New  York  by  popular  will.  As  Governor,  he  marked  himself 
by  his  persistent  fight  against  legislative  corruption,  and  in  favor 
of  fair  corporation  taxation. 

Mr.  Roosevelt  married  Miss  Edith  Kermit  Carrow  in  1886, 
and  they  have  five  children,  three  boys  and  two  girls,  and  a 
daughter  by  the  first  Mrs.  Roosevelt.  His  home,  where  all  his 
children  were  born,  is  called  Sagamore  Hill,  and  is  at  Oyster  Bay, 
1,.  I.  In  New  York  city  he  sometimes  occupies  a  rented  house. 
Mrs.  Roosevelt  and  the  children  are  essentially  a  part  of  his  life. 
While  his  official  duties  keep  him  away  from  them  they  are  never 
absent  from  his  thought  nor  he  from  theirs.  His  home  life  is  as 
ideal  as  his  public  life  is  clean. 

MADE  SPEECHES  IN  THE  WEST. 

Colonel  Roosevelt  visited  the  West  and  made  several  speeches 
in  which  he  fully  maintained  the  independent  stand  he  years  ago 
assumed,  but  heartily  endorsed  the  policies  of  the  administration 
and  the  fundamental  principles  of  the  Republican  party. 

Theodore  Roosevelt  has  had  sorrow,  having  lost  a  beloved 
mother  and  a  most  charming  wife,  his  first  love,  who  was  Miss 
Alice  Lee,  of  Boston.  They  died  in  the  same  house  within  a  few 
hours  of  each  other,  and  the  grief  of  the  great  strong  man  was 
pitiful  to  behold. 

The  present  Mrs.  Theodore  Roosevelt,  who,  before  her  mar- 
riage was  Edith  Carow,  of  New  York,  is  a  remarkable  woman,  and 
one  of  rare  personality.  She  is  a  woman  of  the  highest  principle 
and  of  a  far  more  than  ordinary  mental  calibre.  From  her  earliest 
childhood  she  has  been  an  omnivorous  reader  and  a  constant 
student.  She  has  always  shrunk  from  anything  like  notoriety, 
and  the  necessary  publicity  that  her  husband's  position  has  forced 
upon  her  has  been,  so  far  as  lay  in  her  power,  made  less 


SKETCH    OF   PRESIDENT  ROOSEVELT.  4gl 

conspicuous.  She  is  a  New  Yorker  by  birth,  was  educated  at  one 
of  the  fashionable  schools  and  has  spent  several  years  traveling 
abroad.  She  is  an  accomplished  linguist  and  her  musical  knowl- 
edge is  far  above  the  ordinary. 

Ever  since  her  marriage  she  has  devoted  herself,  heart  and 
soul,  to  her  husband's  career  and  at  the  same  time  has  been  a 
devoted  mother.  She  has  not,  in  one  sense  of  the  word,  gone 
into  society  at  all,  although  by  her  birth  as  well  as  her  marriage 
she  has  always  had  a  position  which  involves  certain  social  duties. 
Her  circle  of  acquaintances  has  been  from  childhood  the  same  as 
her  husband's,  and  they  have  among  their  friends  the  leading 
people  of  the  country.  Mrs.  Roosevelt  is  rather  petite,  has  brown 
hair  and  brown  eyes,  a  clear  skin  with  some  color  when  she  is 
excited,  but  her  chief  beauty  is  her  mouth,  which  is  marvelously 
expressive. 

HIS  PERSON  AND  DRESS. 

Mrs.  Roosevelt  dresses  neatly  and  simply  with  a  quiet  ele- 
gance. Her  wealth  of  tresses  is  pushed  back  from  the  forehead, 
except  a  few  curly  ringlets  that  play  about  her  temples.  She  is 
not  an  athlete,  but  she  is  a  finished  horsewoman  and  is  fond  of 
outdoor  exercise.  Mrs.  Roosevelt  is  a  member  of  half  a  dozen 
clubs  and  has  long  been  identified  with  a  score  of  charities. 

She  possesses  the  great  talent  which  made  Mrs.  Cleveland  so 
popular,  of  remembering  the  faces  of  people  she  meets  once  or 
twice  and  also  being  able  to  remember-  all  about  them.  She  is 
the  boon  companion,  as  well  as  the  very  wise  and  tender  mother, 
of  her  stepdaughter  and  her  own  children,  who  are  much  younger 
than  Miss  Alice  Roosevelt.  She  has  a  wide  knowledge  of  politics, 
both  foreign  and  American.  She  is  a  frail  looking  women,  but 
has  much  more  strength  than  she  arjparently  possesses.  She  is 
deeply  religious. 

Mr.  Roosevelt's  two  sisters  are  women  noted  for  their  rare 
charm,  intelligence  and  their  most  gracious  manners.  Mrs. 
Cowles,  former^  Miss  Anna  Roosevelt,  has  been  married  only  a 
few  years,  although  she  is  older  than  her  brother  Theodore.  Her 


492  SKETCH   OF   PRESIDENT   ROOSEVELT. 

charitable  work  is  known  the  world  over,  and  her  business  ability 
is  striking. 

When  her  cousin,  Mr.  J.  Roosevelt,  was  in  charge  of  the 
British  Embassy  in  London,  she  went  over  as  his  guest  and 
stayed  with  him  for  a  time,  taking  charge  of  his  household.  Her 
success  as  a  hostess  was  marvelous  in  London,  in  fact,  in  Eng- 
land, where  she  made  countless  warm  friends,  and  where  she  met 
Commander  Cowles,  whom  she  married  the  following  year.  In 
Washington,  where  she  is  a  very  marked  personality,  she  comes 
nearer  to  having  a  salon  than  any  other  American  woman. 

STRONG  LOVE  OF  HOME. 

The  Roosevelt  love  of  home  is  a  marked  characteristic  of  the 
family  not  confined  at  all  to  this  generation,  for  the  Roosevelt  clanish- 
nesswas  at  one  time  a  by  word,  and  to  this  day  the  immediate  members 
of  the  Roosevelt  family  apparently  find  more  pleasure  in  each 
other's  society  than  in  that  of  any  of  their  friends.  Mr.  Roosevelt 
certainly  takes  intense  pleasure  in  being  with  his  children,  as 
they  do  in  being  with  him.  Home  for  the  Roosevelt  is  the  "  dearest 
spot  on  earth." 

A  prominent  journal  says  : — "  Upon  Theodore  Roosevelt, 
whom  circumstances  as  unexpected  as  they  are  sad  have  made  the 
twenty-fifth  President  of  the  United  States,  the  eyes  of  an  ex- 
pectant nation  are  now  turned,  dimmed  though  they  be  with  tears. 
What  will  the  new  President  make  of  his  opportunity  ?  What 
will  be  his  policy,  and  whom  will  he  seek  for  his  advisers  ?  Such 
are  the  questions  on  many  lips.  President  Roosevelt  has  as  yet 
had  little  to  say  on  these  topics  of  absorbing  public  interest ; 
indeed,  volubility  on  these  subjects  on  his  part  would  at  this  time 
have  been  most  unbecoming.  The  few  words  spoken  by  him, 
however,  after  the  oath  of  office  had  been  administered  by  Judge 
Hazel  at  Buffalo  are  reassuring. 

"  '  In  this  hour  of  deep  and  national  bereavement,'  said  the 
newly  inaugurated  Chief  Magistrate,  '  I  wish  to  state  that  it  shall 
be  my  aim  to  continue  absolutely  and  without  variance  the  policy 
of  President  McKinley  for  the  peace  and  prosperity  and  honor  of 


SKETCH    OF  PRESIDENT   ROOSEVELT.  493 

our  beloved  country.'  Nothing  more  could  be  desired,  particu- 
larly if  the  words  of  the  incoming  Executive  referred  to  the  later 
policy  cf  his  lamented  predecessor,  whose  outlook  had  become 
broadened  by  experience  and  inspired  by  a  spirit  more  cosmopoli- 
tan than  that  which  had  characterized  the  putative  author  of  the 
McKinley  bill. 

"  But  Mr.  Roosevelt  is  not  an  unknown  quantity  in  public 
life  in  the  United  States.  Few  men  at  his  age  in  recent  Ameri- 
can history  have  attained  equal  distinction  and  notoriety — the 
word  being  used  in  no  invidious  or  disparaging  sense.  He  has 
lived  in  the  white  light  of  publicity  almost  from  his  youthful  cow- 
boy days.  He  sprang  into  early  fame  as  the  historian  of  the 
conquest  of  the  Great  West,  and  has  since  remained  prominent; 
with  few  intermissions,  in  various  branches  of  the  public  service 
more  or  less  important.  He  has  been  Police  Commissioner  in 
New  York  city,  Assistant  Secretary  of  the  Navy,  Colonel  of  Vol- 
unteers, Governor  of  his  native  State,  and  Vice  President  of  the 
Union  ;  and  now  he  has  attained  the  highest  honor  within  reach 
of  an  American  citizen. 

HIS  CHARACTER  AN  OPEN  BOOK. 

"If  Theodore  Roosevelt's  character  has  not  been  read  by 
the  American  people  as  an  open  book  spread  out  before  them,  it 
has  not  been  through  any  fault  of  his  own.  He  has  not  been 
content  to  talk  of  the  strenuous  life  ;  he  has  lived  it.  Intensity 
is  his  predominant  trait.  His  greatest  failing,  perhaps,  is  lack 
of  steadiness — by  which  it  is  not  to  be  inferred  that  he  is  weak. 
Far  from  that  being  the  case,  he  is,  if  anything,  too  strong-willed. 
But  what  is  meant  is  that  he  has  betrayed  in  the  past  want  of 
poise.  This  failing,  however,  is  usually  associated  with  imma- 
turity, and  is  likely  to  be  sloughed  off  as  the  individual  possessed 
of  it  attains  riper  experience. 

"  President  Roosevelt  has  wit  and  grit,  and  if  he  shall  keep 
his  feet  on  firm  ground,  the  affairs  of  the  nation  will  doubtless  be 
quite  secure  in  his  hands,  and  will  be  conducted  by  him  with  dis- 
creet conservatism.  The  weight  of  responsibility  is  not  conducive 


494  SKETCH  OF  PRESIDENT  ROOSEVELT. 

to  soaring ;  and  thus  ballasted  there  is  every  ground  for  expecting 
President  Roosevelt  to  turn  his  back  to  the  glory-crowned  heights 
and  to  travel  the  safe  though  prosaic  and  toilsome  path  of  duty, 
as  will  be  required  of  him  by  the  national  interests." 

The  following  estimate  of  Mr.  Roosevelt  was  written  during 
the  campaign  that  made  him  Vice-President.  It  is  from  a  Colorado 
poet  in  praise  of  the  Rough  Rider : 

"  Now,  doff  your  hat  to  Teddy,  boys,  for  he's  the  proper  man. 
His  life  has  been  a  triumph  since  its  starting  first  began. 
His  pluck  and  spirit  in  the  days  he  roamed  upon  the  range 
Has  builded  up  a  character  no  circumstance  can  change. 
From  a  cowboy  on  the  '  round-up '  to  the  Governor  of  his  State 
We've  always  found  a  man  in  him  that's  strictly  up  to  date. 
As  a  daring  '  bronco  buster/  or  a  Colonel  in  command, 
We'll  greet  him  with  McKinley  with  an  open,  hearty  hand. 
He  served  his  country  nobly  and  fired  his  faithful  boys 
With  patriotic  valor,  amid  the  cannon's  noise. 
And,  as  they  to  him  were  loyal,  in  battle's  fierce  array, 
So  will  the  voters  prove  to  be  upon  election  day. 
Now  doff  your  hats  to  Teddy,  boys,  the  man  with  grit  and  nerve 
In  every  office  that  he  fills,  the  people  will  he  serve. 
Progression  is  his  policy,  no  laggard  in  the  race, 
He'll  lead  us  on  to  victory,  whatever  be  the  pace." 

Theodore  Roosevelt  is  the  third  graduate  of  Harvard  Uni- 
versity to  hold  the  highest  honor  in  the  gift  of  the  American 
people.  John  Adams  and  John  Quincy  Adams  were,  graduated 
from  Harvard.  It  was  in  1825  when  J.  Q.  Adams  became  presi- 
dent. Now  comes  Roosevelt.  Roosevelt  entered  Harvard  in  1876, 
when  he  was  eighteen  years  old.  His  work  in  college  was  charac- 
terized by  the  enthusiasm  and  earnestness  which  have  become 
known  to  all  the  people  as  dominant  traits  of  his  character  in 
public  life. 

When  he  came  to  the  Cambridge  college  he  was  a  slight  lac 
and  not  in  robust  health,  but  he  at  once  took  a  judicious  anc 
regular  interest  in  athletics  and  in  a  little  while  the  effects  were 
apparent  in  his  stalwart  figure  and  redoubled  energy.  He 


SKETCH  OF   PRESIDENT   ROOSEVELT.  495 

wrestled  and  sparred  and  ran  a  great  deal,  but  never  indulging 
in  athletic  work  to  the  point  of  injury. 

In  his  studies  young  Roosevelt  was  looked  upon  "  as  pecu- 
liarly earnest  and  mature  in  the  way  he  took  hold  of  things,"  as 
one  of  his  classmates  put  it.  Ex-Mayor  Josiah  Quincy,  of  Boston, 
who  was  in  college  with  Roosevelt,  says  of  him  : 

"  He  exhibited  in  his  college  days  most  of  the  traits  of 
character  which  he  has  shown  in  after  years  and  on  the  larger 
stage  of  political  life.  In  appearance  and  manner  he  has  changed 
remarkably  little  in  twenty  years,  and  I  should  say  that  his  lead- 
ing characteristic  in  college  was  the  very  quality  of  strenuousness 
which  is  now  so  associated  with  his  public  character.  In  what- 
ever he  did  he  showed  unusual  energy,  and  the  same  aggressive 
earnestness  which  has  carried  so  far  in  later  life. 

MATURE  BEYOND  HIS  YEARS. 

"  He  exhibited  a  maturity  of  character,  if  not  of  intellectual 
development,  greater  than  that  of  most  of  his  classmates,  and  was 
looked  upon  as  one  of  the  notable  members  of  the  class — as  one 
who  possessed  certain  qualities  of  leadership  and  of  popularity 
which  might  carry  him  far  in  the  days  to  come,  if  not  counter- 
balanced by  impulsiveness  in  action  or  obstinacy  in  adhering  to 
his  own  ideas.  He  was  certainly  regarded  as  a  man  of  unusually 
good  fighting  qualities,  of  determination,  pluck  and  tenacity. 

"  If  his  classmates  had  been  asked  in  their  senior  year  to 
pick  out  the  one  member  of  the  class  who  would  be  best  adapted 
for  such  a  service  wrhich  he  rendered  with  the  Rough  Riders  in 
Cuba  I  think  that,  almost  with  one  voice,  they  would  have  named 
Roosevelt.  Theodore  Roosevelt  is  in  many  respects  as  broad  and 
typical  an  American  as  the  country  has  produced." 

Both  his  fellows  and  his  teachers  say  that  he  was  much  above 
the  average  as  a  student.  He  was  just  as  original,  just  as  reliant 
on  his  own  judgment  as  he  is  now.  In  a  mere  matter  of  opinion 
or  of  dogma  he  had  no  respect  for  an  instructor  say-so  above  his 
own  convictions,  and  some  of  his  contemporaries  in  college  recall 
with  smiles  some  very  strenuous  discussions  with  teachers  in 


496  SKETCH  OF   PRESIDENT  ROOSEVELT. 

which  he  was  involved  by  his  habit  of  defending  his  own  convic- 
tions. 

At  graduation  he  was  one  of  the  comparatively  few  who  took 
honors,  his  subject  being  natural  history.  When  yonng  Roose- 
velt entered  college  he  developed  the  taste  for  hunting  and  natural 
history  which  has  since  led  him  so  often  and  so  far  through  field 
and  forest.  His  rifle  and  his  hunting  kit  were  the  most  conspicu- 
ous things  in  his  room.  His  birds  he  mounted  himself. 

Live  turtles  and  insects  were  always  to  be  found  in  his  study, 
and  one  who  lived  in  the  house  with  him  at  the  time  recalls  well 
the  excitement  caused  by  a  particularly  large  turtle  sent  by  a 
friend  from  the  southern  seas,  which  got  out  of  its  box  one  night  and 
started  for  the  bathroom  in  search  for  water.  Although  well 
toward  the  top  as  a  student  he  still  had  his  full  share  of  the  gay 
rout  that  whiles  dull  care  away.  In  his  sophomore  year  he  was 
one  of  the  forty  men  in  his  class  who  belonged  to  the  Institute  of 

1770. 

BELONGED  TO  SEVERAL  CLUBS. 

In  his  senior  year  he  was  a  member  of  the  Porcelain,  the 
Alpha  Delta  Phi,  and  the  Hasty  Pudding  Clubs,  being  secretary 
of  the  last  named.  In  the  society  of  Boston  he  was  often  seen. 

Roosevelt's  membershiD  in  clubs  other  than  social  shows 
conspicuously  the  kind  of  college  man  he  was.  In  rowing,  base- 
ball and  foot-ball  he  was  an  earnest  champion,  but  never  a  promi- 
nent participant.  In  the  other  athletic  contests  he  was  often  seen. 
It  was  as  a  boxer  that  he  excelled.  Boxing  was  a  regular  feature 
of  the  Harvard  contests  of  that  day,  and  "  Teddy,"  as  he  was  uni- 
versally called,  was  the  winner  of  many  a  bout. 

He  had  his  share  in  college  journalism.  During  his  senior 
year  he  was  one  of  the  editors  of  the  "Advocate."  Unlike  the  other 
editors,  he  was  not  himself  a  frequent  contributor. 

The  range  of  his  interests  is  shown  by  this  enumeration  of 
clubs  in  which  he  had  membership.  The  Natural  History  Society, 
of  which  he  was  vice-president ;  the  Art  Club,  of  which  Professor 
Charles  Eliot  Norton  was  the  president ;  the  Finance  Club,  the 
Glee  Club  (associate  member),  the  Harvard  Rifle  Corps,  the  O.  K. 


SKETCH  Of   PRESIDENT   ROOSEVELT.  4§7 

Society,  of  which  he  was  treasurer,  and  the  Harvard  Athletic 
Association,  of  which  he  was  steward. 

Roosevelt's  share  of  class-day  honors  was  membership  in  the 
class  committee.  All  who  knew  Roosevelt  in  his  college  days 
speak  of  him  as  dashing  and  picturesque  in  his  ways  and  hand- 
some appearance.  His  photograph,  taken  at  graduation,  shows 
no  moustache,  but  a  rather  generous  allowance  of  side  whiskers. 

Although  he  was  near  sighted  and  wore  glasses  at  the  time, 
they  do  not  appear  in  the  photograph.  Maturity  and  sobriety  are 
the  most  evident  characteristics  of  the  countenance.  A  companion 
of  student  days  tells  a  story  to  show  that  the  future  President  did 
things  then  much  as  he  does  them  now.  A  horse  in  a  stable  close 
to  Roosevelt's  room  made  a  sudden  noise  one  night  which  de- 
manded instant  attention. 

BOUNDED  FROM  AN  UPPER  WINDOW. 

Young  Roosevelt  was  in  bed  at  the  time,  but  he  waited  not 
for  daytime  clothes.  Nor  did  he  even  wait  to  go  down  the  steps. 
He  bounded  out  the  second-story  window,  and  had  quieted  the 
row  before  the  less  impetuous  neighbors  arrived.  It  was  while  in 
college  that  he  conceived  the  idea  of  his  history  of  the  American 
Navy  in  the  War  of  1812.  This  volume  was  written  soon  after 
leaving  college.  He  was  not  yet  twenty-four  when  it  was  completed. 

In  view  of  the  position  which  the  author  afterward  held,  next 
to  the  head  of  the  American  Navy,  the  preface,  written  before  the 
beginning  of  our  present  navy,  is  of  striking  interest  He  says  : 
"At  present  people  are  beginning  to  realize  that  it  is  folly  for  the 
great  English-speaking  Republic  to  rely  for  defense  upon  a  navy 
composed  partly  of  antiquated  hulks  and  partly  of  new  vessels 
rather  more  worthless  than  the  old." 


32 


CHAPTER  XXVII. 

President  Roosevelt  in  the  Battle  of  San  Juan — Story  of 
Brave  Exploits — Narrow  Escape — Ballad  of  "  Teddy's 
Terrors." 

THE  part  acted  by  President  Roosevelt  in  our  war  with  Spain 
gave  him  great  prominence  and  showed  the  sterling  charac- 
teristics of  the  man.     General  Wheeler's  official  account  of  the 
first  battle  at  Santiago  officially  known  as  the  battle  of  Siboney, 
or  La  Quasina,  thus  refers  to  the  famous  Rough  Rider  : 

u  Colonel  Wood's  regiment  was  on  the  extreme  left  of  the 
line  and  too  far  distant  for  me  to  be  a  personal  witness  of  the 
individual  conduct  of  the  officers  and  men  ;  but  the  magnificent 
bravery  shown  by  the  regiment  under  the  lead  of  Colonel  Wood 
testifies  to  his  courage  and  skill  and  the  energy  and  determina- 
tion of  his  officers,  which  have  been  marked  from  the  moment  he 
reported  to  me  at  Tampa,  Fla.,  and  I  have  abundant  evidence  of 
his  brave  and  good  conduct  on  the  field,  and  I  recommend  him. 
for  the  consideration  of  the  Government.  I  must  rely  upon  his 
report  to  do  justice  to  his  officers  and  men,  but  I  desire  person- 
ally to  add  that  all  I  have  said  regarding  Colonel  Wood  applies 
equally  to  Colonel  Roosevelt. 

"  I  was  immediately  with  the  troops  of  the  First  and  Tenth 
Regular  Cavalry,  dismounted,  and  I  personally  noticed  their 
brave  and  good  conduct,  which  will  be  specially  mentioned  by 
General  Young." 

"  There  must  have  been  nearly  fifteen  hundred  Spaniards  in 
front  and  to  the  sides  of  us,"  said  Lieutenant-Colonel  Roosevelt 
just  after  the  fight.  "  They  held  the  ridges  with  the  rifle  pits 
and  machine  guns,  and  hid  a  body  of  men  in  ambush  in  the 
thick  jungle  at  the  sides  of  the  road  over  which  we  were  advanc- 
ing. Our  advance  guard  struck  the  men  in  ambush  and  drove 
them  out.  But  they  lost  Captain  Capron,  Lieutenant  Thomas 
and  about  fifteen  men  killed  or  wounded. 

493 


STORY   OF   BRAVE   EXPLOITS.  499 

'  The  Spanish  firing  was  accurate,  so  accurate  indeed  that  it 
surprised  me,  and  their  firing  was  fearfully  heavy.  I  want  to  say 
a  word  fjr  our  own  men,"  continued  Lieutenant-Colonel  Roose- 
velt. "Every  officer  and  man  did  his  duty  up  to  the  handle.  Not 
a  man  flinched." 

From  another  officer  who  took  a  prominent  part  in  the  fight- 
ing, more  details  were  obtained.  "  When  the  firing  began,"  said 
he,  ''Lieutenant-Colonel  Roosevelt  took  the  right  wing  with 
Troops  G  and  K,  under  Captains  Llewelyn  and  Jenkins,  and 
moved  to  the  support  of  Captain  Capron,  who  was  getting  it  hard. 
At  the  same  time  Colonel  Wood  and  Major  Brodie  took  the  left 
wing  and  advanced  in  open  order  on  the  Spanish  right  wing. 
Major  Brodie  was  wounded  before  the  troops  had  advanced  one 
hundred  yards.  Colonel  Wood  then  took  the  right  wing  and 
shifted  Colonel  Roosevelt  to  the  left. 

"WITH  A  YELL,  THE  MEN  SPRANG  FORWARD." 

"  In  the  meantime  the  fire  of  the  Spaniards  had  increased  in 
volume,  but,  notwithstanding  this,  an  order  for  a  general  charge 
was  given,  and  with  a  yell  the  men  sprang  forward.  Colonel 
Roosevelt,  in  front  of  his  men,  snatched  a  rifle  and  ammunition 
belt  from  a  wounded  soldier,  and  cheering  and  yelling  with  his 
men,  led  the  advance.  In  a  moment  the  bullets  were  singing 
like  a  swarm  of  bees  all  around  them,  and  every  instant  some  poor 
fellow  went  down.  On  the  right  wing  Captain  McClintock  had 
his  leg  broken  by  a  bullet  from  a  machine  gun,  while  four  of  his 
men  went  down.  At  the  same  time  Captain  Luna,  of  Troop  F, 
lost  nine  of  his  men.  Then  the  reserves,  Troops  K  and  E,  were 
ordered  up. 

"  There  was  no  more  hesitation.  Colonel  Wood,  with  the 
right  wing,  charged  straight  at  a  block-house  eight  hundred  yards 
away,  and  Colonel  Roosevelt  on  the  left,  charged  at  the  same 
time.  Up  the  men  went,  yelling  like  fiends  and  never  stopping 
to  return  the  fire  of  the  Spaniards,  but  keeping  on  with  a  grim 
determination  to  capture  the  block-house. 

"  That  charge  was  the  end.     When  within  five  hundred  yards 


500  STORY  OF  BRAVE  EXPLOITS. 

of  the  coveted  point  the  Spaniards  broke  and  ran,  and  for  the  first 
time  we  had  the  pleasure,  which  the  Spaniards  had  been  experi- 
encing all  through  the  engagement,  of  shooting  with  the  enemy 
in  sight." 

Said  an  officer  of  high  rank  :  "I  cannot  speak  coo  highly  ot 
Colonel  Theodore  Roosevelt.  He  is  every  inch  a  fighter,  and  led 
a  charge  of  dismounted  cavalry  against  men  in  pits  at  San  Juan 
successfully.  It  was  a  wonderful  charge,  and  showed  Roosevelt's 
grit.  I  was  not  there,  but  I  have  been  told  of  it  repeatedly  by 
those  who  saw  the  Colonel  on  the  hill. 

Two  reports  made  by  Colonel  Theodore  Roosevelt  to  his 
superior  officer  in  front  of  Santiago  in  July  were  given  out  by  the 
War  Department  at  Washington,  December  22,  1898.  Both  re- 
ports describe  the  operations  of  the  Rough  Riders  in  the  battle  of 
San  Juan,  the  second  telling  a  much  fuller  story. 

THE  BRAVE  TROOPERS. 

In  his  first  report,  dated  July  4th,  he  mentions  by  name  many 
of  the  troopers  who  distinguished  themselves  by  their  bravery. 
This  part  of  the  report,  which  was  made  by  Roosevelt,  as  lieu- 
tenant-colonel in  charge  of  the  regiment,  to  Colonel  Wood,  tem- 
porarily in  charge  of  the  brigade,  was  as  follows  : 

"  We  went  into  the  fight  about  four  hundred  and  ninety 
strong.  Eighty-six  were  killed  or  wounded  and  there  are  half  a 
dozen  missing.  The  great  heat  prostrated  nearly  forty  men, 
some  of  them  among  the  best  in  the  regiment.  Besides  Captain 
O'Neill  and  Lieutenant  Haskell,  who  were  killed.  Lieutenants 
Leahy,  Devereaux  and  Case  were  wounded.  All  behaved  with 
great  gallantry.  As  for  Captain  O'Neill,  his  loss  is  one  of  the 
severest  that  could  have  befallen  the  regiment.  He  was  a  man 
of  cool  head,  great  executive  ability  and  literally  dauntless 
courage. 

u  To  attempt  to  give  a  list  of  the  men  who  showed  signal 
valor  would  necessitate  sending  in  an  almost  complete  roster  of 
the  regiment.  Many  of  the  cases  which  I  mention  stand  merely 
as  examples  of  the  rest,  not  as  exceptions. 


STORY   OF   BRAVE   EXPLOITS.  501 

"Captain  Jenkins  acted  as  Major  and  showed  such  con- 
spicuous gallantry  and  efficiency  that  I  earnestly  hope  he  may 
be  promoted  to  major  as  soon  as  a  vacancy  occurs.  Captains 
Lewellen,  Muller  and  Luna  led  their  troops  throughout  the 
charges,  handling  them  admirably.  At  the  end  of  the  battle 
Lieutenants  Kane,  Greenwood  and  Goodrich  were  in  charge  of 
their  troops  immediately  under  my  eye,  and  I  wish  particularly 
to  commend  their  conduct  throughout. 

"  But  the  most  conspicuous  gallantry  was  shown  by  Trooper 
Rowland.  He  was  wounded  in  the  side  in  our  first  fight,  but  kept 
in  the  firing  line.  He  was  sent  to  the  hospital  the  next  day,  but 
left  it  and  marched  out  to  us,  overtaking  us,  and  fought  all 
through  this  battle  with  such  indifference  to  danger  that  I  was 
forced  again  and  again  to  restrain  and  threaten  him  for  running 

needless  risks. 

CLIMBED  A  WIRE  FENCE. 

"Great  gallantry  .was  also  shown  by  four  troopers  whom  I 
cannot  identify  and  by  Trooper  Winslow  Clark,  of  Troop  G.  It 
was  after  we  had  taken  the  first  hill.  I  had  called  out  to  rush  the 
second,  and  having  by  that  time  lost  my  horse,  climbed  a  wire 
fence  and  started  toward  it. 

"  After  going  a  couple  of  hundred  yards  under  a  heavy  fire, 
I  found  that  no  one  else  had  come.  As  I  discovered  later,  it  was 
simply  because  in  the  confusion,  with  men  shooting  and  being 
shot,  they  had  not  noticed  me  start.  I  told  the  five  men  to  wait 
a  moment,  as  it  might  be  misunderstood  if  we  all  ran  back,  while 
I  ran  back  and  started  the  regiment,  and  as  soon  as  I  did  so  the 
regiment  came  with  a  rush. 

"  But  meanwhile  the  five  men  coolly  lay  down  in  the  open, 
returning  the  fire  from  the  trenches.  It  is  to  be  wondered  at  that 
only  Clark  was  seriously  wounded,  and  he  called  out,  as  we  passed 
again,  to  lay  his  canteen  where  he  could  reach  it,  but  to  continue 
the  charge  and  leave  him  where  he  was.  All  the  wounded  had  to 
be  left  until  after  the  fight,  for  we  could  spare  no  men  from  the 
firing  line.  Very  respectfully, 

"  THEODORE  ROOSEVELT." 


502  STORY   OF   BRAVE   EXPLOITS. 

The  second  and  more  important  report  was  addressed  to  Brig- 
adier General  Wood,  and  dated  Camp  Hamilton,  near  Santiago, 
July  2ofh.  It  was  as  follows  : 

"  SIR — In  obedience  to  your  directions  I  herewith  report  on 
the  operations  of  my  regiment  from  the  ist  to  the  i/th  inst., 
inclusive 

"  As  I  have  already  made  you  two  reports  about  the  first 
day's  operations,  I  shall  pass  over  them  rather  briefly. 

"  On  the  morning  of  the  first  day  my  regiment  was  formed 
at  the  head  of  the  second  brigade,  by  the  El  Paso  sugar  mill. 
When  the  batteries  opened  the  Spaniards  replied  to  us  with 
shrapnel,  which  killed  and  wounded  several  of  the  men  of  my 
regiment.  We  then  marched  towards  the  right,  and  my  regiment 
crossed  theford  before  the  balloon  came  down  there  and  attracted 
the  fire  of  the  enemy,  so  at  that  point  we  lost  no  one.  My  orders 
had  been  to  march  forward  until  I  joined  General  Lawton's  right 
wing,  but  after  going  about  three-quarters  of  a  mile,  I  was  halted 
and  told  to  remain  in  reserve  near  the  creek  by  a  deep  lane. 

A  SHOWER  OF  BULLETS. 

"  The  bullets  dropped  thick  among  us  for  the  next  hour 
while  we  lay  there,  and  many  of  my  men  were  killed  or  wounded. 
Among  the  former  was  Captain  O'Neill,  whose  loss  was  a  very 
heavy  blow  to  the  regiment,  for  he  was  a  singularly  gallant  and 
efficient  officer.  Acting  Lieutenant  Haskell  was  also  shot  at  this 
time.  He  showed  the  utmost  courage  and  had  been  of  great  use 
during  the  fighting  and  marching.  It  seems  to  me  some  action 
should  be  taken  about  him. 

"  You  then  sent  me  word  to  move  forward  in  support  of  the 
regular  cavalry,  and  I  advanced  the  regiment  in  column  of  com- 
panies, each  company  deployed  as  skirmishers.  We  moved 
through  several  skirmish  lines  of  the  regiment  ahead  of  us,  as  it 
seemed  to  me  our  only  chance  was  in  rushing  the  intrenchrnents 
in  front  instead  of  firing  at  them  from  a  distance. 

"  Accordingly  we  charged  the  blockhouse  and  entrenchments 
on  the  hill  to  our  right  against  a  heavy  fire.  It  was  taken  in 


STORY   OF    BRAVE   EXPLOITS. 


503 

good  style,  the  men  of  my  regiment  thus  being  the  first  to  capture 
any  fortified  position  and  to  break  through  the  Spanish  lines 
The  guidons  of  G  and  E  trood  were  first  at  this  point,  but  some 
of  the  men  of  A  and  B  troops,  who  were  with  me  personally,  got 
in  ^ahead  of  them.  At  the  last  wire  fence  up  this  hill  l' was 
obliged  to  abandon  my  horse,  and  after  that  we  went  on  foot. 

"After  capturing  this  hill  we  first  of  all  directed  a  heavy 
fire  upon  the  San  Juan  hill  to  our  left,  which  was  at  the  time 
being  assailed  by  the  regular  infantry  and  cavalry,  supported  by 
Captain  Parker's  Catling  guns.  By  the  time  San  Juan  was 
taken  a  large  force  had  assembled  on  the  hill  we  had  previously 
captured,  consisting  not  only  of  my  own  regiment,  but  of  the 
Ninth  and  portions  of  other  cavalry  regiments. 

CHARGE  UNDER   HOT  FIRE. 

'  We  then  charged  forward  under  a  very  heavy  fire  across  the 
valley  against  the  Spanish  entrenchments  on  the  hill  in  the  rear 
of  San  Juan  hill.  This  we  also  took,  capturing  several  prisoners. 
'  We  then  formed  in  whatever  order  we  could  and  moved  for- 
ward, driving  the  Spanish  before  us  to  the  crest  of  the  hills  in 
front,  which  were  immediately  opposite  the  city  of  Santiago  itself. 
Here  I  received  orders  to  halt  and  hold  the  line  on  the  hill's 
crest.  I  had  at  the  time  fragments  of  the  Sixth  Cavalry  Regi- 
ment and  an  occasional  infantryman  under  me — three  or  four 
hundred  men  all  told.  As  I  was  the  highest  there,  I  took  com- 
mand of  all  of  them,  and  so  continued  till  next  morning. 

"  The  Spaniards  attempted  a  counter  attack  that  afternoon, 
but  were  easily  driven  back,  and  then,  until  after  dark,  we 
remained  under  a  heavy  fire  from  their  rifles  and  great  guns, 
lying  flat  on  our  faces  on  a  gentle  slope  just  behind  the  crest. 

"  Captain  Parker's  Catling  battery  was  run  up  to  the  ri^ht 
of  my  regiment  and  did  most  excellent  and  gallant  service.  In 
order  to  charge  the  men  had,  of  course,  been  obliged  to  throw 
away  their  packs,  and  we  had  nothing  to  sleep  in  and  nothing  to 
eat.  We  were  lucky  enough,  however,  to  find  in  the  last  block- 
house captured,  the  Spanish  dinners,  still  cooking,  which  we  ate 


504  STORY   OF   BRAVE   EXPLOITS. 

with  relish.  They  consisted  chiefly  of  rice  and  peas,  with  a  big 
pot  containing  a  stew  of  fresh  meat,  probably  for  the  officers. 

"  We  also  distributed  the  captured  Spanish  blankets  as  far  as 
they  would  go  among  our  men,  and  gathered  a  good  deal  of 
Mauser  ammunition  for  use  in  the  Colt  rapid  fire  guns,  which 
were  being  brought  up.  That  night  we  dug  entrenchments  across 
the  front. 

u  At  three  o'clock  in  the  morning  the  Spaniards  made  another 
attack  upon  us,  which  was  easily  repelled,  and  at  four  they  opened 
the  day  with  a  heavy  rifle  and  shrapnel  fire.  All  day  long  we 
remained  under  this,  replying  whenever  we  got  the  chance.  In 
the  evening,  at  about  eight  o'clock,  the  Spaniards  fired  three  guns 
and  then  opened  a  very  heavy  rifle  fire,  their  skirmishers  coming 

well  forward. 

MEN  IN  THE  TRENCHES. 

"  I  got  all  my*men  down  into  the  trenches,  as  did  the  other 
command  near  me,  and  we  opened  a  heavy  return  fire.  The 
Spanish  advance  was  at  once  stopped,  and  after  an  hour  their  fire 
died  away.  This  night  we  completed  most  of  our  trenches  and 
began  to  build  bomb  proofs.  The  protection  afforded  our  men 
was  good,  and  the  next  morning  I  had  but  one  man  wounded  from 
the  rifle  and  shell  fire  until  twelve  o'clock,  when  the  truce  came. 

"I  do  not  mention  the  officers  and  men  who  particularly  dis. 
tinguished  themselves  as  I  have  nothing  to  add  in  this  respect  to 
what  was  contained  in  my  former  letter. 

"  There  were  numerous  Red  Cross  flags  flying  in  the  various 
parts  of  the  city,  two  of  them  so  arranged  that  they  directty 
covered  batteries  in  our  front  and  for  some  time  were  the  cause 
of  our  not  firing  at  them.  The  Spanish  guerrillas  were  very 
active,  especially  in  our  rear,  where  they  seemed  by  preference  to 
attack  the  wounded  men  who  were  being  carried  on  litters,  the 
doctors  and  medical  attendants  with  Red  Cross  flags  on  theii 
arms  and  the  burial  parties. 

"  I  organized  a  detail  of  sharpshooters  and  sent  them  out 
after  the  guerrillas,  of  whom  they  killed  thirteen.  Two  of  the 
men  thus  killed  were  shot  several  hours  after  the  truce  had  been 


STORY   OF   BRAVE   EXPLOITS.  505 

in  operation,  because,  in  spite  of  this  fact,  they  kept  firing  upon 
our  men  as  they  went  to  draw  water.  They  were  stationed  in  the 
trees,  as  the  guerrillas  were  generally,  and,  owing  to  the  density 
of  the  foliage  and  to  the  use  of  smokeless  powder  rifles,  it  was  an 
exceedingly  difficult  matter  to  locate  them. 

"For  the  next  seven  days,  until  the  loth,  we  lay  in  our  line 
while  the  truce  continued.  We  had  continually  to  work  at  addi- 
tional bombproofs  and  at  the  trenches,  and  as  we  had  no  proper 
supply  of  food  and  utterly  inadequate  medical  facilities  the  men 
suffered  a  good  deal.  The  officers  chipped  together,  purchased 
beans,  tomatoes  and  sugar  for  the  men,  so  that  they  might  have 
some  relief  from  the  bacon  and  hardtack.  With  a  great  deal  of 
difficulty  we  got  them  coffee. 

FOUGHT  AFTER  BEING  WOUNDED. 

"As  for  the  sick  and  wounded,  they  suffered  so  in  the  hospitals 
when  sent  to  the  rear  for  lack  of  food  and  attention  that  we  found 
it  best  to  keep  them  at  the  front  and  give  them  such  care  as  our 
own  doctors  could.  As  I  mentioned  in  my  previous  letter, 
thirteen  of  our  wounded  men  continued  to  fight  through  the 
battle  in  spite  of  their  injuries.  In  spite  of  their  wounds  those 
sent  to  the  rear,  many  both  sick  and  wounded,  came  up  to  rejoin 
us  as  soon  as  their  condition  allowed  them  to  walk. 

"  On  the  loth  the  truce  was  at  an  end  and  the  bombardment 
reopened.  As  far  as  our  lines  were  concerned,  it  was  on  the 
Spanish  part  very  feeble.  We  suffered  no  losses,  and  speedily 
got  the  fire  from  their  trenches  in  our  front  completely  under 
control.  On  the  nth  we  moved  three-quarters  of  a  mile  to  the 
right,  the  truce  again  being  on. 

"  Nothing  happened  there,  except  we  continued  to  watch  and 
do  our  best  to  get  the  men,  especially  the  sick,  properly  fed. 
Having  no  transportation,  and  being  able  to  get  hardly  any 
through  the  regular  channels,  we  used  anything  we  could  find- 
captured  Spanish  cavalry  horses,  abandoned  mules,  some  of  which 
had  been  injured,  but  which  our  men  took  and  cured;  diminutive, 
skinny  ponies  purchased  from  the  Cubans,  etc. 


506  STORY   OF   BRAVE   EXPLOITS. 

"  By  these  means  and  by  the  exertions  of  the  officers  we  were 
able,  from  time  to  time,  to  get  supplies  of  beans,  sugar,  tomatoes 
and  even  oatmeal,  while  from  the  Red  Cross  people  we  got  our 
invaluable  load  of  rice,  cornmeal,  etc. 

"All  of  this  was  of  the  utmost  consequence,  not  only  for  the 
sick,  but  for  those  nominally  well,  as  the  lack  of  proper  food  was 
telling  terribly  on  the  men.  It  was  utterly  impossible  to  get 
them  clothes  and  shoes.  Those  they  had  were,  in  many  cases, 
literally  dropping  to  pieces. 

"  On  the  seventeenth  the  city  surrendered.  On  the  eighteenth 
we  shifted  camp  to  here,  the  best  camp  we  have  had,  but  the  march 
hither  under  the  noonday  sun  told  very  heavily  on  our  men, 
weakened  by  underfeeding  and  overwork,  and  the  next  morning 
123  cases  were  reported  to  the  doctor,  and  I  now  have  but  half  of 
the  600  men,  with  which  I  landed  four  weeks  ago,  fit  for  duty, 
and  these  are  not  fit  to  do  anything  like  the  work  they  could 
do  then. 

A  NIGHT  OF  HARDSHIPS. 

"  As  we  had  but  one  wagon,  the  change  necessitated  leaving 
much  of  my  stuff  behind,  with  a  night  of  discomfort,  with  scanty 
shelter  and  scanty  food  for  the  most  of  the  officers  and  many  of 
the  men.  Only  the  possession  of  the  improvised  pack  train 
alluded  to  above,  saved  us  from  being  worse. 

"  Yesterday  I  sent  in  a  detail  of  six  officers  and  men  to  see  if 
they  could  not  purchase  or  make  arrangements  for  a  supply  of 
proper  food  and  proper  clothing  for  the  men,  even  if  we  had  to 
pay  it  out  of  our  own  pockets.  Our  suffering  has  been  due, 
primarily,  to  lack  of  transportation  and  of  proper  food  or  suffi- 
cient clothing  and  of  medical  supplies. 

"  We  should  now  have  wagon  sheets  for  tentage.  Very 
respectfully, 


Among  the  United  States  regulars  whose  terms  of  enlistment 
expired  during  the  Santiago  campaign,  and  who  quit  the  service 
upon  returning  to  this  country,  was  a  man  of  the  Ninth  Infantry, 


STORY   OF   BRAVE   EXPLOITS.  507 

known  to  the  members  of  the  regiment  as  Johnson  of  Maryland. 
He  was  a  tall,  lanky  Southerner,  and  the  pride  of  the  Ninth  be- 
cause of  his  marksmanship,  which  was  so  true  that  Johnson  was 
head  and  shoulders  over  all  the  others  in  handling  a  Krag- 
Jorgensen. 

He  appeared  to  be  the  most  contented  man  in  Uncle  Sam's 
service,  and  often  spoke  of  re-enlisting,  until  an  event  occurred 
just  after  the  first  day's  fighting  at  San  Juan,  which  caused  him 
to  change  his  mind,  and  he  vowed  never  to  handle  a  gun  again. 
He  would  never  speak  of  it  to  his  comrades,  but  they  all  knew 
why  he  quit  ;  and  although  they  argued  and  tried  to  persuade  him 
to  remain,  Johnson  only  sook  his  head  and  said,  "  No,  boys,  I  can't 
stay  with  you  any  longer.  I'd  like  to,  but  don't  ask  me  again. 
I  can't  do  it.  I  must  get  out." 

STORY  OF  A  TROOPER. 

One  of  the  members  of  Johnson's  company  tells  the  story  of 
what  caused  the  Ninth  to  loose  its  crack  shot. 

"  We  had  been  engaged  in  the  hottest  kind  of  work  for  some 
hours,  and  after  taking  the  first  line  of  Spanish  trenches  we  were 
fixing  them  up  for  our  own  use.  The  Spaniards  had  been  driven 
back,  but  their  sharpshooters  were  still  at  it,  picking  off  our  men 
here  and  there.  The  Mauser  bullets  were  whizzing  around  us 
pretty  lively,  and  I  noticed  that  Johnson  was  getting  more  and 
more  impatient  every  minute,  and  acting  as  if  he  was  just  aching 
to  get  at  those  Spanish  sharpshooters,  and  finally  he  turned  to  me, 
and  in  his  drawling  tone,  said  :  '  Say,  its  tough  we  can't  get  a 
chance  at  them.' 

"  He  soon  got  his  chance,  however,  for  just  as  dusk  began  our 
captain  ordered  a  dozen  of  us  to  advance  a  short  distance  ahead, 
and  well  beyond  the  trenches  our  forces  had  captured.  When  we 
arrived  on  the  spot  we  were  halted  on  the  edge  of  a  dense  wood. 
Just  ahead  of  us  was  an  open  space  of  clear  ground,  and  on  the 
other  side  of  that  a  low,  thick  brush,  which  extended  as  far  as  I 

could  see. 

"Just    before  night  came  on  we  received  our  final  orders, 


508  STORY   OF   BRAVE   EXPLOITS. 

which  were  to  pay  particular  attention  to  the  brush  just  ahead  of 
us  on  the  other  side  of  the  clearing,  and  to  shoot  at  the  first  head 
we  saw.  We  had  settled  down  to  our  tiresome  occupation  of 
watching  and  waiting,  but  always  prepared  for  anything,  and 
Johnson  and  I  were  talking  in  low  tones  of  the  day's  fighting  we 
had  just  passed  through,  when  we  heard  the  sound  of  a  dry  twig 
breaking.  We  were  alert  in  an  instant,  and  all  the  men  in  our 
line  were  looking  straight  ahead  with  pieces  half  raised,  ready  for 
use.  As  1  looked  at  Johnson  I  could  see  him  smile,  apparently 
with  the  hope  of  a  chance  to  shoot.  The  sound  repeated  itself, 
this  time  a  little  nearer,  but  still  quite  indistinct. 

"  An  instant  later  we  again  heard  it,  and  it  sounded  directly 
ahead  of  Johnson  and  me,  and  was,  beyond  a  doubt,  a  cautious 
tread,  but  too  heavy  for  a  man.  While  we  waited  in  almost 
breathless  silence  for  something  to  happen  we  again  heard  the 
cautious  tread,  now  quite  plain.  It  was  the  tread  of  a  horse  and 
was  just  ahead  of  us.  Suddenly,  as  the  head  became  plainer,  a 
dark  object  appeared  just  above  the  top  of  the  brush.  Dozens  of 
guns  were  raised,  but  Johnson  whispered  :  'I've  got  him.' 

HORSE  AND  RIDER  STEP  OUT. 

"  He  crawled  a  few  paces  forward  and  we  saw  him  raise  his 
gun,  his  fingers  nervously  working  on  the  trigger.  At  that 
instant  the  brush  parted  and  a  horse  and  rider  stepped  out.  We 
saw  Johnson  stretch  out  his  piece  and  we  expected  to  see  a  flash, 
but  just  then  the  rider  turned  in  his  saddle,  and  by  the  dim  light 
from  the  dull  red  glow  that  still  tinged  the  sky  we  saw  a  pair  of 
eyeglasses  flash.  We  all  knew  at  once  who  it  was,  but  not  one 
of  us  spoke.  We  were  probably  too  horrified,  and  before  I  could 
say  a  word  Johnson  turned  to  me,  and  "with  a  look  on  his  face  I 
shall  never  forget,  exclaimed  in  a  hoarse  voice : 

"  *  My  God,  Ben,  Roosevelt  1     And  I  nearly  plucked  him  !' 

"With  this  he  threw  his  gun  from  him  and  just  sat  there 

and  stared  at  the  place  in  the  brush  where  Colonel  Roosevelt  and 

his  horse  had  entered.     The  latter,  when  he  heard  the  voices  of 

our  men,  came  straight  up  to  us,  and  appeared  surprised  to  find 


STORY  Of  feRAVE  EXPLOITS.  §09 

us  So  far  beyond  the  trench.  When  he  heard  of  the  orders  about 
shooting  at  the  first  head  we  saw,  he  smiled  and  said : 

'"That  is  the  first  I've  heard  of  the  orders.  They  were 
probably  issued  while  I  was  away  on  a  little  reconnoitering  on 
my  own  hook.' 

"  He  spoke  cheeringly  to  the  men  about  and  passed  on,  little 
thinking  how  near  he  was  to  death  a  few  minutes  before.  The 
more  we  thought  of  it  after  he  passed  the  more  in  the  dumps  we 
got,  for  every  one  of  us  loved  the  Colonel  of  the  Rough  Riders, 
particularly  for  his  kindness  to  his  men,  and  I  tell  you  it  was  a 
gloomy  crowd  that  sat  there  watching  Johnson,  who,  with  his 
head  supported  by  his  hand,  was  either  praying  or  thinking 

hard. 

NOT  HAPPY  AFTERWARD. 

"We  were  relieved  shortly . afterward,  and  as  we  marched 
back  in  silence  Johnson  walked  with  bowed  head  and  none  of  us 
spoke  to  him,  for  we  imagined  that  he  felt  as  if  he  would  like  to 
be  alone.  From  that  day  Johnson  showed  a  restlessness  that  was 
new  to  him,  and  I  never  saw  him  so  happy  as  the  day  he  stepped 
aboard  the  transport  bound  for  home. 

"I  don't  know  whether  any  word  of  the  affair  ever  reached 
Colonel  Roosevelt's  ears,  but  it  was  a  mighty  narrow  ;  escape,  and 
I  tell  you  that  I  would  rather  have  twenty-five  Spaniards  with 
a  bead  on  me  at  100  yards  than  for  Johnson  to  pick  me  out  for  a 
target  at  300  yards.  In  the  first  case  you  would  have  a  good 
chance  of  escaping  injury,  but  with  Johnson  shooting  i 
clear  case  of  cashing  in  your  chips." 

THE   BALLAD   OF   "TEDDY'S   TERRORS." 

As  RELATED  BY  ROUND-UP  RUBE,  OF  RATTLESNAKE  GULCK. 
THERE  wus  a  lovely  regiment  whose  men  wus  strong  and  stout, 
Fer  some,  they  had  diplomas,  and  fer  some  wus  warrants  out, 
And  Wood,  he  was  their  colonel  bold,  an'  Teddy  was  his  mate, 
And  they  called  'em  "Teddy's  Lambkin's,"  fer  their  gentleness  wus  great, 
Now  a  good  ole  man  named  Shafter  says  to  Teddy  and  to  Wood  :- 
"There's  a  joint  called  Santiago  where  we  ain't  well  understood,- 


510  STORY  OF   BRAVE   EXPLOITS. 

So,  take  yer  lamb-like  regiment,  and  if  you  are  polite 

I  think  yer  gentle  little  ways  '11  set  the  matter  right." 

So  when  Teddy's  boy's  got  movin'  and  the  sun  was  on  the  fry, 

And  the  atmosphere  was  coaxing  them  to  lay  right  down  and  die, 

Some  gents  from  Santiago  who  wus  mad  'cause  they  wus  there 

Lay  down  behind  some  bushes  to  put  bullets  through  their  hair. 

Now  Teddy's  happy  Sunday  School  wus  movin'  on  its  way 

A-seekin*  in  its  peaceful  style  some  Dagos  fer  to  slay ; 

And  the  gents  from  Santiago,  with  aversion  in  their  hearts, 

Wus  hiding  at  the  cross-roads  fer  to  blow  'em  all  apart. 

There's  a  Spanish  comic  paper  that  has  give  us  sundry  digs — 

A-callin'  of  us  cowards  and  dishonest  Yankee  pigs; 

And  I  guess  these  folks  had  read  it,  and  had  thought  'twould  be  immense 

Jest  to  paralyze  them  lambkins  they  wus  runnin'  up  agains'. 

So  when  our  boys  had  pretty  near  arrived  where  they  wus  at, 

And  the  time  it  was  propitious  fer  to  start  that  there  combat, 

They  let  her  fly  a-thinkin'  they  would  make  a  dreadful  tear, 

An'  then  rubber-necked  to  see  if  any  Yankees  wus  still  there. 

Now  you  can  well  imagine  wot  a  dreadful  start  they  had 

To  see  'em  still  a'  standin'  there  and  lookin'  bold  and  bad, 

Fer  when  this  gentle  regiment  had  heard  the  bullets  fly, 

They  had  a  vi-lent  hankerin'  to  make  them  Spaniards  die. 

So  Teddy,  he  came  runnin'  with  his  glasses  on  his  nose, 

And  when  the  Spanish  saw  his  teeth  you  may  believe  they  froze  ; 

And  Wood  was  there  'long  with  'im,  with  his  cheese-knife  in  his  hand, 

While  at  their  heels  came  yellin'  all  that  peaceful,  gentle  band. 

They  fought  them  bloody  Spaniards  at  their  own  familiar  game, 

And  the  gents  from  Santiago  didn't  like  it  quite  the  same — 

Fer  you  plug  yer  next  door  neighbor  with  a  rifle  ball  or  two 

And  he  don't  feel  so  robustous  as  when  he's  a-pluggin'  you. 

So  when  the  shells  wus  hoppin',  while  the  breech-blocks  clicked  and  smoked, 

An'  the  powder  wouldn't  blow  away  until  a  fellow  choked, 

That  regiment  of  Yankee  pigs  wus  gunnin'  through  the  bush, 

An'  raisin'  merry  hell  with  that  there  Santiago  push. 

Then  Teddy  seen  'em  runnin',  and  he  gives  a  monstrous  bawl, 

And  grabbed  a  red  hot  rifle  where  a  guy  had  let  it  fall, 

And  fixin'  of  his  spectacles  more  firmly  on  his  face, 

He  started  to  assassinate  them  all  around  the  place. 


511 


So  through  the  scrubby  underbrush  from  bay" n't  plant  to  tree, 

Where  the  thorns  would  rip  a  feller's  pants  a  shockin'  sight  to  see, 

He  led  his  boy's  a-dancin'  on,  a  shoutin'  left  and  right, 

And  not  missin'  many  Spanish  knobs  that  showed  'emselves  in  sight. 

And  when  them  Santiago  gents  wus  finished  to  their  cost, 

Then  Teddy's  boys,  they  took  a  look,  and  found  that  they  w.us  lost, 

And  as  their  crewel  enemies  was  freed  from  earthly  pain, 

They  all  sat  down  to  wait  fer  friends  to  lead  'em  back  again. 

That's  the  tale  of  Teddy's  terrors,  and  the  valiant  deed  they  done, 

But  all  tales,  they  should  have  morals,  so  o'  course  this  tale  has  one. 

So  paste  this  idea  in  yer  cage,  wotever  else  you  do, 

Fer  perhaps  you'll  thank  me  fer  it  yet  before  yer  game  is  through  : 

The  soldier-boy  that  wears  the  blue  is  gentle-like  and  meek, 
But  I  doubt  he'll  mind  the  Bible  if  you  soak  him  on  the  cheek; 
An'  should  you  get  him  riled  a  bit,  you  want  to  have  a  care, 
Fer  if  he  ever  starts  to  fight  he'll  finish — Gawd  knows  where  ! 

STEPHEN  F.  WHITMAN. 

THE  NOMINATION. 

As  the  time  for  the  nominating  conventions  in  1900  drew  near, 
public  attention  was  turned  to  Mr.  Roosevelt  as  a  candidate  for 
Vice-President.  The  nomination  was  thrust  upon  him.  In 
nominating  Governor  Roosevelt  for  Vice-President,  Colonel 
Young  of  Iowa,  spoke  as  follows: 

"  On  the  ship  Yucatan  was  that  famous  regiment  of  Rough 
Riders  of  the  far  West  and  the  Mississippi  Valley  (applause).  In 
command  of  that  regiment  was  that  fearless  young  American, 
student,  scholar,  plainsman,  reviewer,  historian,  statesman,  sol- 
dier, of  the  middle  West  by  adoption,  of  New  York  by  birth. 
That  fleet  sailed  around  the  point,  coming  to  the  place  of  landing, 
stood  off  the  harbor,  two  years  ago  to-morrow,  and  the  navy  bom- 
barded that  shore  to  make  a  place  for  landing,  and  no  man  who 
lives  who  was  in  that  campaign  as  an  officer,  as  a  soldier,  or  as  a 
camp  follower,  can  fail  to  recall  the  spectacle  ;  and,  if  he  closes 
his  eyes  he  sees  the  awful  scenes  in  that  campaign  in  June  and 
July,  1898. 


612  STOR\    OF  BRAVE   EXPLOITS. 

"And  the  leader  of  that  .campaign  of  one  of  those  regiments 
shall  be  the  name  that  I  shall  place  before  the  Convention  for  the 
office  of  Vice-President  of  the  United  States  (applause.) 

"Now,  gentlemen  of  the  Convention,  I  place  before  yon  this 
distinguished  leader  of  Republicanism  of  the  United  States  ;;this 
leader  of  the  aspirations  of  the  people,  whose  hearts  are  right, 
and  this  leader  of  the  aspirations  of  the  young  men  of  this  country. 
Their  hearts  and  consciences  are  with  this  young  leader,  whom  I 
shall  name  for  the  Vice-Presidency  of  the  United  States — Theodore 
Roosevelt,  of  New  York."  (Loud  cheering.) 

When  the  roll  of  states  was  called,  it  is  needless  to  say  every 
delegate  voted  for  Roosevelt  with  one  exception,  and  that  was 
himself.  A  demonstration  of  the  wildest  and  most  enthusiastic 
character,  and  lasting  half  an  hour,  followed  the  announcement 
that  Roosevelt  was  the  nominee  for  Vice-President. 

Palms  were  waved,  the  standards  of  the  various  delegations 
were  hurried  to  the  platform,  the  band  attempted  to  make  itself 
heard  amid  the  loud  acclaim,  processions  of  excited,  cheering  dele- 
gates marched  up  and  down  the  aisles,  and  the  popular  New  York 
Governor  was  congratulated  by  as  many  as  could  get  within 
reach  of  him. 


